Santa Barbara County is one of the youngest wine growing regions in California, measured by both vine age and the age and experience of its winemakers. Thus it wasn't hard for me to sit around a table at the home of Presqu'ile winery owner Matt Murphy with eight winemakers and
In 1998, Fred Strothman (who now operates JF Strothman Distillery in Grand Junction) was building St. Kathryn Cellars Winery in Palisade, CO. There were a few issues with construction and Strothman took the unconventional step of deciding an exorcism was required. He contacted Bishop Arthur Tafoya in Pueblo, CO, who
In my experience, vins clairs tastings are a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the wine before the bubbles, and to imagine their development over time; they are a unique foray into the magical kingdom of champagne. Early in the life of a bottle of champagne, before bubbles have
In the world of marketing and sales, it's always good when you can keep things simple. Of course, this can be quite a challenge for an industry like the wine industry, where realities of place, grapes, vintages, styles, and terroir add up as so many variables to take into account—enough
Has this ever happened to you? It’s Friday evening, the end of a long, hard week. That morning you’d grabbed some meat from the freezer to thaw for dinner—let’s say bone-in chicken breasts. On the way home from work, you picked up some broccoli, a ripe red bell pepper, some
A blue-white stillness, frozen many times over. The soft sweeping and pattering of branches bowing against the ice, as a giant bison scratches against the trunk of a conifer tree. Somewhere, far off, the ice can be heard cracking; struggling to retain its dominance against the disruption of moving, warm
One of the most controversial topics about Californian wine—and thus, one of the most widely discussed by wine lovers—is how much Napa Cab has changed over the years, or whether it has truly been altered. Every time I go to Napa and Sonoma with a group of wine writers, we
In Italy, we have a proverb: never change a formula that works. Vinitaly is the most important annual international wine and spirits exhibition in the world; this year there were 4,164 exhibitors from 120 countries, and 140,000 visitors. Vinitaly’s original formula—a combination professional exhibition and popular festival—has always worked, for
