Eleanor recently showed her documentary “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” in Sonoma. More than 150 people gathered at the Sebastiani Theater last Thursday night to see it through her eyes. The filmmaker behind the filmmaker had a great deal to say about the documentary and the countless obstacles it [...]

Bravo to Orpheus Wines for its out-of-the-box offering. The winery has a Keg Club for those wanting to buy its wine in kegs, and the Kenwood winery is one of the few in California offering a brand of recyclable kegs called “Keykegs.” This winery is no slacker. The Orpheus, 2013 [...]

With the chill of winter upon us, I’m devoting this 1 minute blog to syrah. Cool weather, after all, is the season of syrahs and stews. A syrah is a cowboy of a wine, bold, racy and wild, one of the few varietals that can stand up to a hearty [...]

Kunde, who died earlier this year at the age of 66, was known for her generosity, her deep roots as a grower, and yes, her lively hats. The most sentimental part of Sunday’s Harvest Awards Night was when Saralee Kunde’s black and silver Derby-style hat was auctioned off. While plenty [...]

The valley has resumed doing what it does best – celebrating. Napa Valley Rocks is a fundraiser Sept. 25 to 28 to celebrate the rebound from the Aug. 24 earthquake, while raising money for those hardest hit. There are dinners, concerts, a half marathon and more, with all events of [...]

At Sunday’s Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction bidders had an appetite for goodwill, raising a record-breaking $4 million. Pocket change for the well-heeled? To capture the color of the auction – the fashion, the humor, the bidding mentality – here’s this year’s list of “bests,” from best dressed, to best lot, [...]

Mumm Napa plans to begin harvesting grapes Wednesday at 6 a.m. The official celebration will begin around 11 a.m. at the winery with winemaker Ludovic Dervin giving a traditional harvest toast.

Gloria Ferrer’s Catalan Festival is Saturday and Sunday, and the Sonoma winery wants to transport you to Spain without a transatlantic flight. Sipping wine paired with paella, and taking in flamenco without a trace of jet lag is truly an irresistible offer. To prepare your palate for the fun, here’s [...]

This is what was written on a colossal chalkboard at Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga, CA, and there was plenty of chalk for people to fill in the blanks. I’ve never heard of soul searching as a prerequisite to wine tasting but there it was — this huge blackboard of hope [...]

At Auction Napa Valley bidders had an appetite for goodwill, raising a record-breaking $18.7 million this past weekend. Pocket change for the well-heeled? To capture the color of the auction weekend – the fashion, the humor, the bidding mentality – here’s this year’s list of “bests,” from best dressed, to [...]