As summer switches into gear, backyard gardens look big and lush.  Produce is just starting to ripen:  a tomato here, a zucchini there, a handful of sugar snap peas today, bulbous spring onions tomorrow.  Backyard produce has not commenced bountiful delivery yet and with the sporadic harvest of this or that, all that remains sitting [...]

  Everyone seemingly anticipates spring earlier this year.  With the official commencement of spring only three weeks away, the anticipation of its arrival is palpable.  The birds seem to chirp louder and faster, humans have a noticeable spring in their step and local garden centers cannot wait to plant vegetable garden ideas in your head.  [...]

  Cabernet Franc is a varietal which some may know, some may not know; some may pass over, and some may smartly cherish. Often found as a blending grape in well-know Cabernet Sauvignon wines, from time to time when a winery has exceptional fruit and/or an exceptional year, Cabernet Franc will be bottled as a [...]

November is always an interesting month as seemingly each person handles it differently.   Some people commence their holiday shopping in a flurry while others coordinate with extended family members to begin celebrating Thanksgiving early in the months in order to rotate homes for dinner by the actual holiday.   For those who garden, in early November [...]

  This growing season in Napa Valley has not been without its challenges.  Rain and cooler temperatures visited the valley early in the season and growers watched breathlessly hoping that “shatter” would not happen.   The summer then progressed far cooler than average.   Yields are less, yet flavors should be more concentrated without high sugar levels, [...]