With a title such as that, any reader, let alone a Petite Sirah aficionado, would want any introductory banter about the present weather in Napa Valley, the blooming mustard, the cloudless sunny days sparking the hope for a good vintage year ahead or any other whimsical observations to quickly wrap and move on to the […]

Napa Valley and the rest of the Bay Area have been enjoying two weeks of glorious spring-like weather.  Graced with warm sunny afternoons, early signs of spring are emerging whether it is blooming mustard or wild flowers.   Kicking back in the sun with some light appetizers and a glass of wine this weekend, I found […]

As 2010 wound to its finish, it did not extinguish meekly as the week leading up to New Year’s holiday was loaded with fast-paced last minute dealings, surprise visitors from out of town and an ever mindful realization that time is indeed fleeting.   When a week that was seemingly larger than life finally screeched to […]

Throughout the summer and fall, articles have appeared seemingly left and right pondering the outcome of the 2010 growing season and what it will mean for Napa Valley wines.   Residents, hospitality staff and winemakers alike sat and nibbled their fingernails in nervous anticipation of 2010 harvest and collectively shivered through an unseasonably chilly summer.   While […]

Seemingly out of nowhere the week before Christmas has fallen upon us and here in the Bay Area and Napa Valley residents are enduring rain storm after rain storm.   Water is beginning to stand in low-lying vineyards and despite this, the first few blooms of mustard have risen above tall healthy green blades of grass […]