When Carl Doumani Calls ~ A Petite Master Has Answers
How appropriate that I get to write about PS I Love You and Petite Sirah on Valentine’s day. Years ago, when I was loving the architecture of Carl Doumani’s Quixote Winery, in a meeting we had set up for an interview, we had finished chatting and he gifted his time-worn Hundertwasser book to me. I […]
Exclusively Yours ~ Square Peg ~ Once in a Lifetime Winery
Travel with me on the Graton Road, in Green Valley of Russian River Valley. We’re heading toward the Forest Primeval. And, we’re feeling pretty much the way Yegor Chernykh must have felt, in 1836. Who was Yegor, you ask? An excellent question… Yegor was a Russian Agronomist, sent from his homeland to the new world. […]
Opportunity of Circumstance, by Vintner D. H. Gustafson
I recently wrote about Dan Gustafson of Gustafson Family Vineyards and Winery, in a fun, astrological way… This Full Moon in Capricorn Celebrates Prominence – Dan Gustafson is in the House. I wrote: The Capricorn personality is geared towards that of leadership and achievement, they always want to climb the corporate ladder and be the […]
A Petite Auction – no small deal
The Ninth Annual Petite Sirah auction has become an exclusive Petite auction; the only one of its kind in the entire world. [This image was taken in 2014, just before the doors opened for Dark & Delicious Petite Sirah®.] The US is dominating in the growth of this variety, and has its own marketing group called […]
60 different grape varieties, what would you do with them: Acorn Winery has an answer…
A question that I can’t help but ask, “If you grew 60 different grape varieties, what would you do with them?” The reason for asking this is that I just met with Bill and Betty Nachbaur of Acorn Winery, for a second time. I say second time, because I met with both of them, not […]
Why Naming your winery something provocative really matters
[Image by Siegel Photography] Naming your winery something provocative really matters… It has to be done very thoughtfully, in order to have great success. Jose and I just sat with Ron Rubin, who was going to create his own wine brand. Ron is The Republic of Tea’s owner, a brand that he bought in 1994, […]
Chef Sean Baker of Gather in Berkeley
I owe a debt of gratitude to Chef Sean Baker of Gather in Berkeley. First, I’m going to share… Wine is nothing more than liquid food. It has the potential to be an art form, like one created by the great masters; or it can simply be a poster hung on a wall with tape […]
Sitelines at Tres Sabores was splendor in the vines
Sitelines at Tres Sabores was a delicious midsummer night’s dream. Promoted by Julie Johnson and her husband Jon Engelskirger, this year’s event was their second annual (if indeed this is to be an annual event). If it is and you love the arts, you don’t want to miss it next year. I did overhear someone […]
Batonnage of a new sort at River Road Family Vineyards and Winery
Batonnage, the stirring of lees after fermentation, at River Road Family Vineyards and Winery (RRFVAW) is performed by winemakers Joe Freeman and Ed Morris in a new fan-dangled way. It’s also important to note that assistant winemaker Ed Morris worked as a cooper for 11 years, prior to coming to River Road Family Vineyards and […]
Tom Klein of Rodney Strong talks about his 2009 vintages for Cab and Meritage
I’m very lucky to be living in Russian River Valley, where so many wonderful wine companies are based. Little did I know on my very first trip to California, when I visited Rodney Strong Vineyards in the early 1900s, that someday I’d be living five minutes away by car. My interest in Rodney Strong wines […]
