ARISTA; ANOTHER SECRET REVEALED
Another secret revealed. Bay Area life is an endless series of such predicaments.Beginning in the late 1990s, when we had Wednesday night subscriptions to the [...]
DEADLINE LOOMING, COLLECTION READY
There is nothing like a firm deadline to move a writing project along. In my case it is a self-imposed one: to publish by this [...]
$10 OR LESS AT TRADER JOE’S; THE WHITES
When it comes to wine prices, buyers often act irrational. With most consumer goods they search for the high quality at low prices, but [...]
ALBARINO; GUZZLE-AND-ENJOY
There are some wines that should not be intellectualized. Just buy and drink, preferably with matching foods and enjoy their simple pleasures. For me Albarino [...]
JARVIS, MY SAVIOR
Am I blocked or just too busy at work?Since my return from vacation in Germany I haven't been able to write much, not with my [...]
WITH HEMINGWAY ON THE BUS TO NUREMBERG
On a boring bus ride through the Bohemian countryside, headed from Prague to Nuremberg, I restart Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast in hopes of acquiring [...]
RAM SCROTUMS AND PRETZELS IN FRANCONIA; THE STICH WINERY (WEINGUT STICH)
Vacations are not only about R&R. They are also learning experiences. In my recent trip through rivers of Southern Germany I came to know a [...]
IN THE HEART OF GERMAN WINE COUNTRY; DOCTOR’S VINEYARD AND AN UNUSUAL TASTING (DR THANISCH WINES)
I face a tasting of one hundred and forty wines at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning. We are in Bernkastel, Germany, on the Mosel [...]
A GOOD NOVEL, A BAD INFLUENCE
Can a good novel be a bad influence? I often emulate whatever I am reading (I am always reading something, fiction or non-fiction), sometimes incorporating [...]
AN UNEXPECTED LEFTOVER (CHATEAU LYNCH BAGES)
How does one keep wine leftovers? It is an age old question to which the wine industry has recently provided elaborate solutions, vacuum sealers, inert [...]