Excruciating pain has a way of giving you additional focus. I’m learning this the hard way, courtesy of a degenerated L5-S1 lumbar disk which is causing a bulge that my spinal cord finds disagreeable (“disagreeable” as in “excruciating sciatica that is more painful than when I broke a bone in my hand and is now…
Category: on the road
Bringing Tough Love To Cape Town (Nederburg Wine Auction 2013)
I’m very excited to tell you that I’ll be delivering the keynote address at the 39th Nederburg Wine Auction in Cape Town, South Africa on September 7th. Nederburg is often cited as one of the wine world’s most major auctions annually. So… no pressure… no pressure…! The 2013 auction collection includes 72 red wines, 36…
The Riesling Up-And-Comers That You’re Probably Ignoring (Riesling Rendezvous 2013)
You’d think that, as a self-professed Riesling freak, I’d have been in a Happy Place that was damn near orgasmic in attending the 2013 Riesling Rendezvous in Seattle, as a media guest of the organizers. And you’d be right, of course. For Riesling lovers, this was “I’d better go change my pants again” kind of…
(Surprising) Results Of The 2013 Critics Challenge
Late last month, I wrapped up a stint at the fourth and final wine competition in which I’d be judging in 2013, the 10th Annual Critics Challenge in (Stay Classy) San Diego. The results of that comp. have been announced. Following are some thoughts on the Critics Challenge itself, and notes on some of the…