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Highlights from Sonoma County Wine Auction

Saturday’s spiraling bids raised a record-breaking $5.2 million in a single afternoon. To capture the color – the fashion, the humor, the bidding mentality – peruse this list of “bests,” from best television personality, to best setting, to best treats. For those who went to the auction and for the curious who didn’t, here are some snapshots.

By | September 18th, 2017|0 Comments

At the Paulee dinner, long-winded sipping is tradition

This Francophile is looking forward to the Russian River Valley’s Paulee dinner on Friday. This feast, fashioned after the traditional harvest dinner in Burgundy, is a rare treat because it’s custom for everyone to bring a bottle of wine to share. And it’s not just any wine. These bottlings, more [...]

By | August 29th, 2017|0 Comments

Cutting-edge wine research uncorked

The Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University recently reeled in people from the far reaches of the world when it hosted its 10th annual Academy of Business Research Conference. The countries represented include Austria, China, and France, among others. In the following Q&A, Dr. Liz Thach gives her feedback [...]

By | August 21st, 2017|1 Comment

When the moon blots out the sun, what will you be drinking?

Vintners bottle wine for all occasions and the solar eclipse is no exception. One bottling I’ve come across is the 7 Moons Red Blend, vintage 2015, $13. You’ll have to drink at your own risk; I’ve not tasted this eclipse red, but here are the winemaker’s tasting notes: “7 Moons [...]

By | August 21st, 2017|0 Comments

POP QUIZ: What’s behind the new rollout for the Sonoma County Wine Auction?

ANSWER: Fundraising smarts. Last year’s Honorary Co-Chair Dan Kosta said changes were afoot because having the auction on Labor Day Weekend prevented too many family-oriented would-be-bidders with deep pockets from coming. For years these potential bidders opted to stay home and celebrate the three-day holiday weekend with their children. After [...]

By | July 21st, 2017|2 Comments

Spirited is a unique package — wine, spirits, beer and cider

The hot new magazine – Spirited – has a rare voice; it’s smart and edgy, but most of all, it’s panoptic. It speaks to wine, spirits, beer and cider as it chronicles the revolution -- the comingling of drink. To get a sense of this pervasive magazine, what follows is [...]

By | June 21st, 2017|2 Comments

Why not pamper papa all month long?

There is something to be said for wine-savvy fathers, particularly on their special day. They understand they live in an agrarian culture and that there’s really only one season in Wine Country: harvest. They go for the latest wine gadgets, grilling books and tastiest bottling both budget and highbrow. Here’s [...]

By | June 18th, 2017|2 Comments

Museum-quality wine

I recently went to a wedding reception and was handed a glass of Chateau Montelena 1988 Chardonnay, a tribute to the bride’s birth year. Naturally I was curious about the wine, knowing that its sibling -- the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay -- is in the Smithsonian. You recall this great [...]

By | June 9th, 2017|2 Comments

Curious about Auction Napa Valley? Peruse last year’s highlights

With Auction Napa Valley's roll out this week, a recap of last year's festivities is in order. To capture the color – the fashion, the humor, the bidding mentality – peruse this list of “bests,” from best spectacle, to best quote, to best dressed. For those who plan to go [...]

By | May 29th, 2017|0 Comments

Behind the scenes at the North Coast Wine Challenge

Last week, in-between tasting flights of wine, there was plenty of hilarious table talk. While we waited for each new set of wines to be poured, we got a chance to hear some great stories from our fellow panelists. Here are two favorites. Evan Hufford, head sommelier of Healdsburg's Single [...]

By | April 18th, 2017|2 Comments