M. Senegor

Celebrities no longer inhabit the world of sports and movies. The restaurant business has spawned quite a few, and now in our wine-growing corner of the world various winemakers have assumed this role. One of them if Gary Farrell, seen in the above photo. For aficionados of California Pinot Noir, he is a well known name, and his career has risen in concert with that of the varietal. His story begs the question: how valuable is a name?As a young winemaker Farrell was mentored by the likes of Rocchioli, Bynum and Dehlinger, Russian River pinot noir pioneers who in the 1980's were[...]

The late Johnny Carson used to regularly tell a joke every Christmas-time about how he thought the one same fruitcake made its rounds through all households in his Nebraska hometown. He disliked fruitcake and so did I, and I could see how this could be, exageration notwithstanding. I was reminded of Carson's fruitcake by a provocative comment uttered by Kermit Lynch (for his photo see my last blog)  in his latest newsletter. Commenting on one of his flagship labels, Domaine Tempier Bandol, he expressed curiosity as to why there isn't an aftermarket for it, since it does not appear in[...]

"Today's Bordeaux producers are essentially making California Cabarnet", said Kermit Lynch. Wow! This broad and sweeping statement is not only an affront to Napa/Sonoma, so nearby, an hour's driving distance from Kermit's famed wine bussiness in Berkeley, but also a big insult to the stodgy French winemaking establishment which has prided itself in being the original, indeed only "authentic" maker of Cabarnet magic. Hidden in the statement is a yet more grandiose shot across the bow of Robert Parker and his acolytes, from which Kermit distinguishes himself. I know, for I am one of Kermit's disciples.As I read a Wall Street Journal interview[...]

Have you ever loved a wine in a winery  and then bought it, only to find that at home, some time later, it tasted totally different? Often this experience is memorable because the wine tastes much worse than what you remembered, and you wonder why on earth you spent good money on it. If you have, join the club. Most do.In a recent trip to the northern Sonoma region, biking and wine tasting, I thought about this phenomenon. While there are several variables that contribute to this problem, in my opinion one is the biggest. First the lesser ones. The[...]

This blog is not about wine.The picture you see above seems like a warm weather resort, but it's not. It is actually the latest incarnation of the Francis Ford Coppola winery in Sonoma, right off Highway 101 near Geyserville. Visitors to this winery are greeted by various layers of orientation to direct them to activities featured there which include a giant swimming pool with a stage area in the background which is a replica of the wedding scene from Godfather II. Lining the pool are Italian style cabana changing rooms, dark blue chaise-longs and multicolored umbrellas. Various uniformed wait staff[...]

It is already happening. The grand recession of 2007-2008 which decimated the local wine industry is coming to an end. In a sure sign that the pendulum is swinging the other way, the Wall Street Journal today reported that California grape growers will not be able to meet demand this year. Over the last decade, having overplanted more vineyards than needed, growers have pulled them down and switched to other crops like nuts, vegetables and other fruits in the fertile lands of California. This certainly accelerated with the sharp drop in demand after the onset of the recession. While recovery[...]