The Myth of Sisyphus Every June, after yet another year of planning, diligent work, some nail-biting, and plenty of waiting, two signal events transpire, and pass, as though in a whirlwind, leaving me, alas, back at square one, ready to try it all over again. The apricot tree in our back yard is about 20 […]

UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT:Lord Willin’ and the Crick Don’t Rise So, let’s see; it’s the third of October, now, and day 50 of crush 2000. Who (as the song asks) knows where the time goes? In a couple of days we’ll receive the Syrah from the Parmelee-Hill vineyard, and pass the halfway point for tons crushed […]

UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT:Rainy Day, Man This has seemed like a difficult year to gauge ripeness. I hear reports, from everyone I know who makes wine, of high sugars, most often concurrent with high acid levels in the grapes, and low pHs.(Usually, as ripening proceeds, the heat that pushes sugar levels higher also serves to lower […]

UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT:The Wheels Come Off There was a car manufactured in Germany years ago, called the Borgward. It was a solidly constructed car, as sturdy, surely, as a Mercedes, and capable of cruising on the highways and autobahns at speeds upwards of 100 mph, yet so smoothly that you never noticed until you saw […]

UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT:Good to the Last Drop “Ain’t it funny how nothin’ ever turns out just the way you had it planned?” –Bob Dylan, “Brownsville Girl” After the Syrah from Fenaughty vineyard came in on October 25, the weather was dismal. It rained the night those grapes arrived, and all the next day. The grapes […]

WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN’ GOIN’ ON A man can get himself in a lot of trouble in a very short time, I keep discovering. It’s only 2 and 1/2 weeks since the last time I wrote here, and I’ve managed to find all kinds of new places where I feel achy and stiff. Since those two […]

Listening Events Steve Edmunds’ collection of self-penned songs, Lonesome on the Ground, makes me wish I was in California… warm and easy feeling, making music with good friends. (I think people who say unkind things about California are mad, because they’re cold.) Steve’s album was produced by Laurie Lewis, who also accompanies him, along with […]

UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT:Maybe it was the Full Moon In my walk through the Viognier Saturday, there were highly practical considerations to be addressed. Viognier wine tastes the way it does because that flavor is in the grapes, when they’re ripe, on the vine. Some grapes just taste like grapes. Viognier, if it’s grown properly, tastes, […]

UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT:We Can’t Go On Meeting this Way Here we go again. I no sooner get the Viognier tucked away in its barrels, ready to ferment, and heave a big sigh of relief, looking forward to a weekend at Pt. Reyes with Cornelia to do some bicycling, some napping, some eating and drinking wine, […]

UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT:Back to the Future I sat in my kitchen Friday morning the 18th, working on the Organolepticians (#5), and happily anticipating a peaceful weekend celebrating my birthday; the celebration would start with a 10:45 am massage appointment — only another 20 minutes or so to wait. I was nearly finished writing, and rose […]