Music in the Malbec?
Violinists in the vineyard?
Songs with Syrah?
Yes it’s the Musikaravan!
Yesterday as we harvested Malbec, Syrah, and Petit Verdot in the Clos des Amis Estate Vineyard on South Mountain, we were serenaded by two Los Angeles area violinists, Continue reading
Are you busy planning where you will go when we can go again?
On a beautiful sunny morning in the Before Time, Gretel Compton and I climbed the windy road up from Santa Rosa past farms, around slow farm equipment, through oak woodland, and beside green vineyards to arrive at Sonoma County’s Balverne and Notre Vue to meet with Alex Holman, winemaker for 5-7k case production for both labels. Continue reading
Last week, I enjoyed watching the sun set, twilight fall, and the glow of the moon in Tuscany, Italy. In front of the house with views of vineyards and the farm of Antonella Manulli, I chatted about sustainability and the Metodo Corino with co-innovators Antonella and Lorenzo Corino and their importer Sheila Donahue of Verovino.
This is one of the oldest places in the world for wine grape cultivation, going back 4,000 years.
As we talked, we all sat outside with our dogs, enjoying the fresh air. Continue reading
Lapostolle Alexander Cuvee Cabernet from 2010 and 2018 paired with the best burger ever
Hard to believe it, but back in November 2008, I started this wine blog, and in December 2008, I participated for the first time in Wine Blogging Wednesday #52’s challenge to write about a Chilean wine under $20 (anybody else remember Wine Blogging Wednesday?) Continue reading
Bruce Freeman picking Zinfandel in upper Ojai CA late August 2020.
“The birds and the bees know when the grapes are ripe,” says Clos des Amis winemaker Bruce Freeman.
It’s 9am on a warm late August morning, and we’re knee deep in thickly trunked Zinfandel wherein large dark clusters of grapes hide bees with a few yellow jackets for good measure. The birds are out too, mostly mourning doves cooing like a daytime owl and acorn woodpeckers making a ruckus.
I’ve asked a silly question: if we’d picked the week before, would the bees be so bad? Would they have taken so much fruit?
Wouldn’t matter, says Bruce.
When the brix is right, the bees know it and they’re right there too ready for the harvest. They snuggle their little fuzzy butts right in there, humping the seeds to get the juicy, seed pulp, leaving hollow hulls and seeds behind.
Usually a highlight of the Wine Media Conference is tasting wine at various educational sessions, while visiting wineries, during wine pairing meals, and of course, at the ever popular and often ridiculed speed tastings. Over the years, I enjoyed all of this and more, including getting to know and spending time with my wine writing colleagues.
I missed going in 2019 as I was in France competing in the World Wine Tasting Championship, and in 2018 I had a paid poetry performance, so I was really looking forward to going to Eugene for the 2020 edition.
But this year, due to COVID, my colleagues and I could only chat along the sidelines of the sessions, instead of between sessions, and the tasting opportunities were limited to what was in our own cellars– and, if we were lucky, and already signed up for the now postponed 2020 conference, we had the opportunity to join one of four at home tastings. Continue reading
I’ll write about anything if you’ll pay me!
— Marcy Gordon, panelist
2020 Wine Media Virtual Summit
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 