2018 Champagne Harvest Update ~ The Report is Exceptional
From COMITÉ Champagne, France: Progress for the 2018 Champagne harvest: it appears to be an exceptional year for their sparkling wine. SIDEBAR for anyone new to sparkling wine: sparkling wine can only be called “Champagne,” if it comes from the region of Champagne, France. This appellation is just outside of Paris. (It is any wonder that Paris is also […]
Dr. Petite Rosenblum, My Mentor and Friend, and Memories by PSILY Members
Jose walked into my office, saying, “Oh, boy, as his voice went down on the “boy.” Then all went silent. “What!” I demanded to know. “Why say that and then say nothing?” I wondered. “Kent Rosenblum is gone.” Gone? Stunned. Just stunned. I couldn’t even say anything. So much raced through my head, including […]
2018 Vineyard Economics Seminar program on Monday, June 18, 2018
The 2018 Vineyard Economics Seminar: Register here… An expert panel will be kicking off the first major discussion of the day, which is a focus on wine country agriculture, the latest in land acquisitions, and what that means for the future. In this panel, five industry experts will journey through a discussion about availability, demand, […]
Business is Not a One-Way Street ~ PR 101
[Photo by Mahdis Mousavi on Unsplash] Here’s how to think about the bigger picture: So, you get someone onto the task of giving you a list of wine bloggers. The time is taken to build the list. Someone in your company writes glorious stories about how fabulous you are. It gets formatted into an email […]
The Circuitous Path from Network News to Fine Wine ~ Tim Ortman
A few days ago, I was explaining to friends Robin Parnell and her lifelong friend Suzette Johnson – while we were out wine tasting – that it was a rosé which became my aha moment in wine. For years, during the Merlot craze, I was giving it my best shot; but, Merlot just wasn’t doing […]
Napa Valley Vintner Stuart Smith Supporting “No On C” with a Blog Devoted to Preservation
Stuart Smith has gathered in depth background materials for “No On C and Napa County’s environment” at www.stopmeasurec.com. The Webpage opens with what’s most concerning for this measure: “Because Measure C was created in secret, the only public airing of the Measure has been mailings, street signs, ads and letters to our local newspapers. Even […]
S.S.U. Wine Business Institute Announces Second Volume of Academic Case Research Journal
Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute School of Business and Economics pretty much says it all. While the University of California at Davis focuses on training enologists and viticulturalist, Sonoma State University (SSU) – being in the center of California’s North Bay wine world – was poised to go in this direction. SSU is the […]
Earth Day in Wine Country ~ You are what you eat AND DRINK
You are what you eat AND DRINK… Why have we missed stating the obvious DRINK part for so long? As you think about this question, consider where we’d be today, if – in the 60s – we would have chanted this concept, with “drink” also included. Then, our children would be further ahead in their […]
Update on Ronn Wiegand of Restaurant Wine ~ Inquiring Minds Want to Know
For those of you who might be missing Ronn Wiegand of Restaurant Wines, let’s catch up. From Ronn: “I’ve been returning to California to taste 2-3 times every year since 2011, and each of my visits lasts a full four weeks or more (so at least two months a year in California tastings). This means […]
New Irrigation Cleaning Treatment Saves Farmer’s Water, Time, and Skin ~ PhytoCat
I received the following information from David Prum, about PhytoCat Irrigation Cleaning. David got my attention. The following information has a lot of merit. Imagine successful irrigation cleaning without caustic chemicals? This new irrigation system goes straight to being really clean, without anything corrosive in the process. The savings to longevity of your vineyard workers’ […]
