This past week Mother Nature gripped California in an angry heat wave as if to remind every “Doubting Thomas” statewide that wrathful heat was possible despite prior “cold” summer conditions.  Despite the climatic vengeance that ensued during the first official week of autumn, temperatures are now beginning to stabilize.   While oppressive heat may be uncomfortable […]

Autumn has arrived.   Some parts of the country are still experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures reminiscent of a typical Southern California autumn and yet Napa Valley is gently coasting into fall with cooler evenings, early rain showers and a sense that summer has been left behind with a sad wave in the rear-view mirror.   As much […]

For those who do not have the benefit of living in Napa Valley, it is often a mystery why it is that one year a wine can be outstanding from a vintner and the next year it can be drastically different.   Provided that the fruit is selected from the same vineyard and the vinification process […]

With Labor Day under one’s belt, near-autumnal breezes whispering at the ear and fleeting warm afternoons at hand, there is no better time than to welcome back Cabernet Sauvignon to the table.   Summer months generally prove far too warm for me and my guests to appropriately appreciate the offerings that Cabernet Sauvignon sets forth in […]

       Zinfandel, long known as California’s red wine grape jewel, is synonymous with barbeque as barbeque is to summer dining.   As August wrapped up this week and Labor Day looms immediately ahead, there is no better tribute than firing up the charcoal grill and pulling a bottle of California’s classic red wine. As cliché as […]