Thanksgiving has come and gone leaving its aftermath of leftovers in the refrigerator, holiday decorating and shopping to finish and for many, an insurmountable backlog of work waiting in the office.   Surfacing for air the week after Thanksgiving may be an accomplishment in and of itself without trying to dream up an involved food and […]

With autumn in full swing, colorful leaves begin to adorn grape vines in Napa Valley and in the rest of the country paint the treetops of skylines to only fall poetically to the ground.   Autumn’s palette fills with orange, yellow, burgundy red, crimson red and brown to create warm hues on leaves previously kissed by […]

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 […]