I don’t typically seek out organic wineries. But often when I find wines that I like, I discover they came from an organic or biodynamic vineyard. Growers who farm “naturally” not only care about the environment, but they feel it makes a better wine. So my process is this: I find wines that I like. [...]
June 2011
When Bill Easton was seven years old, in the late 50’s, his parents would drag him along to tasting rooms in what is now known as the Sierra Foothills AVA (American Viticulture Area). While his parents were sipping Zinfandel, the seeds were being planted for Bill’s lifelong fascination with the Sierra Nevada mountain range and [...]
Despite the fact that the Big Basin Vineyard is on Memory Lane, I can never remember how to get there and get lost every time I go. It’s easy to lose orientation, looping through miles of thick Redwood trunks on narrow, winding roads that rise and fall in elevation, with the sun making infrequent appearances [...]
The first time I visited Drew Family Cellars I was driving an hour and a half longer than expected. I drove 115 miles northwest from San Francisco to the small, rural town of Boonville, the heart of the Anderson Valley grape-growing region. My directions to Jason Drew’s winery were misleadingly simple—drive through Booneville (this only [...]
Barrels often get a bad rap. But the bad taste you have in your mouth isn’t necessarily the barrel’s fault. The barrel might be overused or misused, or the cooper didn’t use the right techniques when making the barrel. Sometimes it’s the wine’s fault. A barrel shouldn’t be expected to cover up flaws or compensate [...]
Bob Lindquist talks about the rhythm of the vineyard, which seems appropriate for a music enthusiast. It was music, in fact, specifically the band the Kinks, that changed his course in 1979 and led him on the path that eventually culminated in Qupe. His first wine job was working in a vineyard for the 1975 [...]
The more I travel, the more I understand that in order to get a true sense of a place, you have to spend time with the people who live there. While I can learn about a culture by going to museums and theatres and restaurants, those experiences often fall short for me. I prefer learning [...]