by Mike Dunne | May 22, 2023 | Blog
We’re standing some 2000 feet up the sunrise slope of the Mayacamas Mountains. We’re looking east but mostly down, way down, scanning the green blocks of grapevines that form the flat and orderly quilt of Napa Valley. I ask Hal Barnett the whereabouts of the...
by Mike Dunne | May 4, 2023 | Blog
Back-to-back wine competitions in Petaluma and Angels Camp last week provided both surprise and affirmation, as competitions are inclined to do. One day it was the Sonoma-Marin Fair’s North of the Gate Wine Competition in Petaluma, which draws entries from most of...
by Mike Dunne | May 2, 2023 | Blog
Napa Valley, the nation’s most gilded wine enclave, also is the most conspicuously gerrymandered, a viticultural district drawn not so much to represent geography and culture as politics, especially the marketing party. In contrast to the traditional standards of...
by Mike Dunne | Apr 25, 2023 | Blog
Jeff Runquist, Mike Roser, take a bow. Saturday, they reaffirmed their stature as two of Amador County’s more accomplished winemakers. At the Amador County Fair commercial wine competition in Plymouth, which drew about 300 entries, they were...
by Mike Dunne | Apr 5, 2023 | Blog
During April – Earth Month – expect to read and hear a lot about how the wine trade is responding to climate change and softening its impact on the environment. More by coincidence than strategy, however, one seasoned winemaker is taking on those issues in an...
by Mike Dunne | Apr 3, 2023 | Blog
Every wine has its day. For Cabernet Franc, it’s Dec. 4. That’s fitting, given that the wine’s customary forward fruit, stable spine and nippy acidity make it a fine companion for the hearty dishes of fall and winter. Michael Kelly doesn’t wait until Dec 4 to uncork...
