The bright lights of the temporary city at Charles Krug near St. Helena in Napa Valley. Note the 19 “Wellness Check” sign.
California is a pyrogenic landscape. That means it is prone to and defined by FIRE.
The indigenous plants and people here co-evolved with fire, using fire to create a complex and diverse mosaic of plants for food, shelter, and forage for animals.
But between climate change and the encroachment of development into the wild, fires are more damaging and destructive than ever.
On Sunday September 27, I was working on a cheery story about California Wine Month, Continue reading →
In our naiveté, we thought they’d be like other red French wines. Sue researched and developed a menu of classic rich creamy and mushroomy dishes to pair with the split of Vin Jaune and the Trousseau. With six adults, and October being MerlotMe, we figured these dishes would work well with several expensive Napa merlot wines.
With a formidable lead after the first round of eight wines with 142 points, France held on to place first for the second year in a row, and China stayed in second place after the second round. Continue reading →