The upcoming November 2nd election is among the most important for the American wine industry in a very long time. Two issues should be watched closely by the wine, beer and spirits industry: 1) the outcome of the race for control of the House of Representatives and 2) the outcome of Initiative 1100 in [...]

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I was disappointed, though not surprised, to see that today a conjunctive labeling law dictating that “Sonoma County” be placed on every label on wines produced from grapes grown in Sonoma County was unanimously passed by the California Legislature . Pushed as an effort to promote “Sonoma County” wines and a consumer education effort, [...]

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Back around the early 1990s if you wanted to spend time on-line discussing wine with fellow oenophiles you frequented the “wine boards” on AOL and Compuserve. These were the premier “bulletin boards” where folks passionate about wine would post topics, comment on topics and discuss the world of wine. I was somewhat active in the [...]

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The Great Recession continues.
Like most folks who have an inkling about the linkage between economic growth, national greatness, prosperity and individual happiness, I am concerned that this recession could linger and create a new sense of “Normal” in which economic growth is slight to anemic.
The clearest sign that we would be pulling out of [...]

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The embarrassment I feel when I come across a long running editorial outlet that is both extremely well done and relatively unknown to me is palpable. I also get a bit angry with myself because I know now that had I been reading this editorial outlet I’d be a smarter person today.
This is exactly [...]

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