Views of a local who has been in the hospitality side of the wine biz full- or part-time for about three decades. Maybe more importantly, an avid consumer of the local wines for over 40 years. Mostly general comments on the California wine business because that's what I know.
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Charles Krug is the oldest commercial winery in Napa, opening in 1861. Beringer Vineyards, est. 1876, is the oldest continuously operating winery. It's Beringer's 150th anniversary. The oldest commercial wineries in Sonoma County are in the town of Sonoma. Buena Vista opened in 1857, and Gundlach Bundschu in 1858. Buena Vista is the oldest commercial winery in the state, but it has not been…
Following are a few photos of beautiful old vines, mostly zinfandel, that I've taken over the past few years. I'll identify where the vines are as best I can. Mostly wintertime pictures because you can see the vine structure better. Click on any image to enlarge. Looks like it's close to picking time! Alexander Valley along Highway 128, in front of Alexander Valley Vineyards Early October 2018…
The Wine Market Council surveys the U.S. consumer for insights on what they're thinking about wine. This data is from a survey in wellness and health as related to wine. Click on the image to enlarge for readability This excerpt from the survey is a question about what information would you like to see on the wine label. The top response, alcohol percentage, is already almost always found on the…
Non-alcoholic wine is a recent trend. It gets lots of press about how growth is going to explode. You may or may not have heard this before with other trends. I have. Future trends for non-alcoholic wines Click on image to enlarge Disclaimer: I have no personal experience with N/A wine because I haven't had the desire to buy and take a chance on these. So this is all on reading others' research…
A couple of graphs taken from Vine Pair showing the total number of wineries and the number per capita. Click on the images to enlarge for readability. Number of wineries per state Number of wineries per 100,000 21+ adults Source: Vine Pair
Claret is a centuries old term for French red Bordeaux used by England. A Bordeaux is a blend that contains some of the following: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. France wants to market a new style of Bordeaux to go with changing tastes in wine. OMG ice cubes in wine! image from Epicurious Bordeaux has changed with the times before, and is changing again with…
In January 2026, Facebook changed the way their algorithm works for recommendations. They are restricting alcohol-related businesses, like wineries and wine retailers.You can still see the pages if you search them out, but FB will no longer proactively suggest them under "Pages you may like," for instance. Alcohol is bad, though apparently not bad enough to implement this on Instagram. FB offered…
We like to compare generations in many way, so why not wine consumption? Something we can all get behind, a great glass of wine Gen Z, "Yeah, as long as I'm not paying for it." 😁 image from thetaste.ie Gen Z born 1997-2012 They are just starting their wine adventure. As has been the case with past generations of people in their 20s, price is key. Sauvignon Blanc is a current favorite among young…
Not every quality wine has to be grown in a Mediterranean climate, as it turns out. Downtown Suttons Bay on the Leenalau Peninsula in NW Michigan looking all cute and touristy from Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce Yes, there are other chilly areas that generally rely on cold climate grapes such as riesling. About 40 years ago, Michigan was still an area best suited to hybrid grapes, or so it was…
Current happenings, mostly related to the slowdown in wine visitation. click on image to enlarge The local wine grape harvest will be the earliest in 40 years and will be a light crop. See more about this in an earlier blog post . In 2026 some of the big guys, Gallo, Constellation, and Kendall Jackson have closed up local facilities. Treasury is consolidating and closing facilities in Sonoma,…
