If I told you what it takes to reach the highest high, You’d laugh and say “Nothing’s that simple!” – from “I’m Free” (Tommy, The Who – 1969) The following commentary is not an easy one to write, because whenever one talks about something that they do, they run the risk of appearing immodest, or…
Category: going pro
This Just In: I Join A PLCB Advisory Group. Also, Hell Freezes Over. Sort Of.
Last week, after I spoke out against NJ Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan publicly dissing his own wine-buying constituents, I received quite a bit of feedback (comments and e-mail) about something I wasn’t talking about. Namely, not reporting from the battlefield of the wine shipping fracas taking place among the rolling hills of my home…
The Hopeless Quest To Define Wines Of True Character (Or “Screw The Ratings, Even Mine”)
Roughly two months ago, in the follow-on discussions on a feature on the wines of Lodi producer Matt Powell, a reader named Olivier chimed on with some though-provoking questions, the kind that, for me, define the 1WD readership because they exponentially increase the value of the content on this little ol’ website. The discussion was…
What I Learned At Summer Wine Judging Camp (Inside The 2011 Lake County Wine Awards, Part One)
A little over a week ago I helped to judge the 2011 Lake County Wine Awards Competition, which was held at Brassfield Estate Winery in the ludicrously-beautiful Clearlake Oaks area. Over 180 wines carrying the Lake County AVA on their labels were submitted to the competition. While I’m well-past the “cutting teeth” stage of judging…