The 2019 vintage was a snapshot of extremes. A cold, wet and lingering Spring dropped over an inch of thunderstorm-powered rain June 1st

Pietro's 3-hour wine seminar covering tasting, descriptors, vineyard practices, winemaking, and food pairings.

10 ways to use fish sauce to make cooking a bit better

I recently spent several days deep in fried chicken R&D for a consulting project and thought I would share a few insights. This recipe development work was f...

This recipe has gone through many iterations (as have I) since I started working it in 2007. It was originally based on recipes from Pierre Hermé and David E...

If you like wine, this is something cool, something almost no one ever sees. Think you know grapes do you? Well this is the modern Dionysian ground zero - th...

Vine Budding and Grafting Friday night we had a guest lecturer, the very highly respected field graft expert, Daniel Robledo. He learned from his father, and...

Greco di Tufo - the TTB has spoken and is wrong I have just received the TTB's judgement on my petition to recognize Greco (Bianco or Tufo) as a grape in the...

I recently opened a restaurant for an unprepared owner. It was an interesting project, but even a small 40-seat opening is very tough and quite complicated. ...

I did the snoopy dance when I heard about it. Deep in Napa Valley, on a warm afternoon we gathered at Silenus to discuss making - wait for it - Nebbiolo. Not...

Here is a hint for those who like to cook - use oxtail. Yes, it looks like a giant denuded penis and yes, it is actually the tail which is a little gross. Bu...

I remember my first espelette. I am only about 50% on the anniversary, and sometimes the car is not where it was left, but I remember the first time I used ...

This is a rare personal post from 2012 - you have been warned. I hate eating and I hate food. Sometimes. I am getting over it. The best way to learn to hate ...

Arneis was not on the original road map for this season (see left), but being flexible is part of the fun. Based in the Roero in Piedmont, Arneis translates ...

Yup, 17 days of 100F or above in July, so in conjunction with a little water nervousness it has been toasty here in Kelseyville.We are running 10-14 days ahe...

A friend recently asked a flurry of questions about rosé wines, wondering who, what and where they were royally made. Here are a couple of quick thoughts: 1....

This was the longest year in so, so many ways. And also the most action packed, intense and almost cerebral, if a winery can claim that. No matter what we wa...

Well that was interesting. What we have here is a serious, unique sparkling red from central Italy that is a bit of a rarity and definitely worth a try with ...