When you leave part of your heart in France ~ Château Sainte-Béatrice is partly responsible
What a charming little village Lorgues is, located in the Côtes de Provence region of France. This area bespoke France to me. It’s a region rich in viticultural history; and, is actually known to be the birth of Mediterranean wine grape growing. (From the Mediterranean Sea, the Romans entered France coming into this region.) Provence […]
Winner of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau Artist Revealed ~ Maeve Croghan
This is the fourth annual wine label competition for the Georges Duboeuf winery, in Beaujolais, France. It’s wonderful that winner Maeve Croghan is currently living and working in the Mendocino, California area, where she teaches and exhibits… She’s almost a neighbor to my Geyserville location, which means I’ll get to visit with her in the […]
A New Air is About, at this 110 Year Old Farm
New Air meets old air, in this charming farmhouse, built in 1910. There’s a sense of renewed spirit passing through. Old houses can hold such historical charm and a lingering culture of the times that each family has lived there, along the way. Around the homes are treasures of the past, with elements of metal, […]
Episode 5 – Kerry Damskey – Going into More Details of Making Wine in Israel
Kerry Damskey talked about his first adventure into Costa Rica in Episode 4, with his new partner and friend Niv Benyehuda. Together they create Nana. SIDEBAR FROM NIV’S WEBSITE: Niv, married to Costa Rican artist, Karen Retana Benyehuda, and father of Lee, Ben, and Dean grew up on the gentle shores of the warm Mediterranean […]
Lucas & Lewellen Sustainably Crafted is Just So Fine ~ An Interview with Mike Lewellen
Lucas & Lewellen sustainably crafted is just so fine is not an overstatement, it’s what I’ve experienced and happy to write about it. First, I got the wine. Next, I tasted it, and found it to be really lovely. The elements of femininity really shined through. Then I discovered Lucas & Lewellen has a female […]
Who is that Global Winemaker Kerry Damskey? ~ Episode 1
Meeting Kerry Damskey, in this quick video series, begins the process of peeling away successful layers of what it takes to become an international, winemaking star, who’s successfully accomplished this particular pursuit. It is a calling, and it’s quite unique, with the people involved being very much adaptable. While using both sides of their brains […]
Complicated Situation in the American Wine Market, by Michael Yurch of The Bluest Sky Group
Wine marketer Michael (Mick) Yurch, of The Bluest Sky Group, has shared the following with me, in his circle of friends and colleagues. It’s a fascinating reading, from someone with international relationships in wine. It’s Mick’s job to prepare wine brands for the United States market. He’s been doing this since leaving his career, as […]
Georges Duboeuf Has Passed on to Greener Vineyards ~ January 4, 2020
[PHOTO CREDIT: Portrait-FD-et-GD-Avril] Georges Duboeuf: Born April 14, 1933, Died January 4, 2020 Known as the “Pope of Beaujolais” Being asked to go to Beaujolais on a media tour in July of 2019, was just the beginning of a very intense, five-day sojourn into the world of Georges Duboeuf, and his life devoted to Beaujolais’s […]
Why Beaujolais Nouveau? ~ History Holds the Answers
[PHOTO: Denis Lapaler, winemaker for Les Vins Georges Duboeuf] Le beaujolais nouveau est arrive! Beaujolais had always made a vin de l’année, to celebrate the end of the harvest. Until World War II, it was only for local consumption. Today, it’s become a worldwide phenomenon, due to some important actions taken by the Georges Duboeuf […]
Normal Winery Merger and Acquisition Market in This Last Quarter of 2019
I don’t usually report on real estate in the wine industry. I’ve just watched – for nearly 30 years – so many wineries changing hands, fading into the sunset, changing the name due to notoriety, the failings of venture capitalism, no legacy planning, etc.. It really is the game of Monopoly, with each county having […]
