The subtitle of this blog is: a blog set inside the world of wine public relations—where the media, culture and I mingle. Today I want to focus on culture, specifically the American culture and the way by which it has...

Tomorrow morning bright and early — actually most likely dark and early (we have to be there by 6:30am) — Bettina and I are going together for the first time for a volunteer shift in the kitchen at God’s Love We Deliver . I volunteered for a full day at ...

The Best Western Miyako Inn has been an anchor of the Japantown restaurant and shopping center for decades. Now, there’s a public contest to rename it while its new owners, the fashionable travel geniuses at Joie de Vivre Hospitality, the largest boutique hotel operators in California, remake its 125 rooms. ...

It's easy to sit in our cozy wine country enclave, watch the news of potential terror attacks emanating out of Great Britain and think, well, we are safe in our little world. However, today's events could significantly impact the wine...

The FERMENTATION family took a jaunt about western Sonoma County yesterday; a nice Sunday afternoon drive into the hinterland of Sonoma County. Beyond the beauty of the vast pasture land, it was the evidence of this county's bounty that really...

My confession is this: I'm a perfume whore. A Cologne Nut. More than anything it is the idea that man can combine so many aromas and scents into a singular potion that has the power to simply arrest arrest our...

You get the impression that Alfonso Cevola is a member of that secret band of men who actually would trade it all in for a chance to be a member of Corleone Family. It's not that he wants to run...

How much do you tip in a restaurant? I tend to go wit a standard 20%. If the service is just south of par I give the server the benefit of the doubt and continue along with the 20%. If...

From the looks of the various studies that have emerged over the past couple of decades you might conclude that drinking wine is the cure for all ills. Now I'm thinking that drinking might also be the cure for stagnant...

My neck of the woods is generally a fairly quiet little place. Glen Ellen in Sonoma Valley is off of Highway 29, the major road tht runs down the center of Sonoma Valley. Despite the tourism that is year round,...