A conversation I had at the tail end of the 2014 Premiere Napa Valley Auction: Alder Yarrow: “So, where are you visiting when you’re in town?” Me: “I’ve got appointments at Stony Hill, Kapcsandy, Casa Nuestra…” Alder: “Casa Nuestra! Oh, yeeeah!” Me: “Did you just squeal?” And so there you have it, one of the…
Two Years Before The Masthead (Reflections On Becoming A Professional Wine Writer)
“You should write about being a professional wine writer.” That’s the advice I got recently from a close friend, after we’d somehow gotten on the topic of picking writing topics. “Why the f*ck would anybody want to read that?” was my response, to which I added, “I’m not even a professional wine writer.” My friend’s…
Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For April 21, 2014
So, like, what is this stuff, anyway? I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available…
Vying For Napa’s Best Reds, By Way Of Hungary… Oh, And Bordeaux, Too (Kapcsandy Family Winery Recent Releases)
“Our competition isn’t Napa Valley; it’s Bordeaux.” That’s how Lou Kapcsandy sums up the goal of his 3,000 (ish) case production winery, a building that nestles up to about 15 acres of vineyard land that formerly went into Beringer’s `75 Private Reserve (“we purchased it in 2000 without them knowing anything about it,” he told…