At 7:50 AM, my start time, the air was cool and fresh. The sun was already shining intensely, as it does on cloudless days in Marlborough. This was the moment it hit me…I could make anything happen.

Just six months before, I had the crazy idea of leaving my life in Chicago to work for a winery in New Zealand. … Read the rest

Several years ago I discovered I had a gluten sensitivity. When a doctor presented me with a long list of foods and beverages to avoid, I panicked until I saw that wine wasn’t on it. Bread, pasta, cookies…okay, I’ll give it all up. I get wine.

A few years later when I was working for a barrel broker and visiting … Read the rest

The journey into the Anderson Valley is not an easy one, but it sure is pretty. From the west, the road follows the Navarro River in from the coast through a Redwood forest. From the east, it twists tightly like a roller coaster, weaving through a band of oaks. After an hour and a half drive north from San Francisco, … Read the rest

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. I look for wines with … Read the rest

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 the grapes growing in its … Read the rest

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 through a dense canopy of … Read the rest

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 takes about 30 seconds) and … Read the rest

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 for something severely lacking in … Read the rest

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 harvest after college. I’ve always … Read the rest