July 6, 2009
My intellectual buzz after wine-tasting.
Since one of the job descriptions from the Murphy-Goode folks for AReallyGoodeJob is the rooting out of new and great picnic spots within Sonoma County, I thought I’d share one I found over this past holiday weekend down in my neck of the woods!
If you’re ever near Ojai (pronounced OH-high), California and would like to find a quiet and beautiful place for a picnic, be sure to swing by Old Creek Ranch Winery just off of Highway 33, due south of Ojai.
I happened by there on Friday after sitting in bad traffic for several hours headed to Santa Barbara (but then changed plans at the last minute and decided to check out Ventura and Ojai) and I found the Old Creek Ranch to be a great oasis. Picnic tables everywhere…serenity…10 great wines to taste for just $10…very friendly staff…need I go on?
My recommendation: Pack a lunch for you and your family (plenty of kids were visiting the winery with their parents), do some wine-tasting (both reds and whites!) and pick a bottle right there to complement your lunch. Then just grab a table right outside…and enjoy!
(If only life were that simple, right? “It’s April 15th…do your taxes and ENJOY!”)
The Ojai region doesn’t have a tremendous wealth of wineries…you’re still a tad too south for the Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez/Lompoc/Buellton extravaganza, but this proved to be a GREAT day trip outside of Los Angeles.
More enticing pictures at the Old Creek Ranch website!
June 26, 2009
(Millennial) Jean...she's awesome!
To continue my series on Millennial Wine Consumers, next up is Jean, a dear, dear friend who is on the cusp of the Millennial generation and has a different experience with wine than Matt, my first interviewee.
I incorporated many of the questions from the comments section of the last interview (thanks for all your contributions!) and I think you’ll find Jean’s response to those and my other questions realllly interesting!
Since I sang Matt’s praises, let me say that Jean is a fun, smart gal with an unmatched intellectual curiosity. She is 100% organized (we tease her about it all the time) and 1000% dependable. We’re also convinced that she either doesn’t sleep or has found more than 24 hours in a day to accomplish all that she does. (And no, I don’t get paid to say these things.)
So, without further ado, let’s meet Jean!
THE INTERVIEW
1. How old are you and how often would you say you buy wine?
I’m 29 (soon to be 30!) and I probably buy wine at least once a week. Maybe more. My goal is to have at least one white and one red at home all the time, but usually I have at least two bottles of each. I shoot to have different varietals and even different brands – it keeps things more interesting for me and gives guests more options.
2. Have you ever purchased wine online, directly from a winery or online retailer?
I have! Just once, I think. Last year I ordered Lamborn wine online as a Christmas present for my dad. We’d tried it on a trip together [because the winery name holds family significance] and I remembered that he had really liked it. When I couldn’t find it locally, I bought several bottles online. According to my mom, it was a hit! But I’m more likely to purchase in person when I’m already out shopping. It just seems easier.
3. Have you ever been to a tasting room at actual wineries?
Keep reading →
June 26, 2009
Whoa...my Photoshopping ain't so subtle today. Can you guess which video box is mine?
I woke up this morning to find an e-mail from Mr. Dave Ready, Jr. (winemaker par excellence for Murphy-Goode) which stated that the Top 50 had been announced…at 2am (boy they are some night owls up in Healdsburg)…and that I had made it into that next tier!
So a nice bit of awesomeness to start off the weekend, right?
(If you have a fetish for press releases, check it out here.)
It’s a great group of people that includes some whom I’ve yet to meet…and quite a few excellent peeps who didn’t make the cut. 
Fortunately, this correspondent position requires the collective efforts of everyone so I don’t see this as a farewell with any of those very talented people.
Thanks to EVERYONE who has supported this journey to date and to all who voted for my application video! I do believe you all helped make this possible!
Next steps: The Top 50 will be pared down to the Top 10 and that will be announced on Tuesday, July 7.
That’s the crazy cut since the Top 10 will fly up (over, down, whichever) to Sonoma County for a few days of merriment and INTENSE SCRUTINY (or maybe not) from the AReallyGoodeJob folks in hopes that they find a person who meshes quite seamlessly with their family and crew.
That’s all for now. Thanks, again, and have a great weekend…probably listening to your favorite Michael Jackson songs.
June 24, 2009
This is one of those posts that may fly in the face of wine etiquette, but being an average wine consumer…I just gotta ask it:
Is there any problem with drinking a Gewürtzraminer for dessert?
I’ve had smaller, quicker dinners the past couple of nights and haven’t thought to open this Chateau Ste. Michelle 2007 Gewürtztraminer (geh-VERTS-truh-meaner…although it’s actually quite nice!) I recently bought at Trader Joe’s for well under $10.
When I finally remembered I had the wine and tasted it, I found it to be just sweet enough that I poured myself a glass after the meal while winding down for the evening.
(Although not exactly the same, I found a quick review of their Dry Gewürtz at this cool site.)
Have I broken some punishable Law of Winedom by doing this? It’s two nights in a row now so my sentence would be that much more severe, methinks. Time to petition for a stay of execution?
Or am I just a wine rebel dancing to the beat of my own drum?
June 22, 2009
Groovy, grape-y blog!
Have you checked out Jeff Lefevere’s GoodGrape.com blog lately?
Not yet? Well, where you been, Jelly Bean?
He put up a fantastic couple of posts last week that give a great snapshot into the Top Ten Most Dramatic Issues facing and inciting the wine industry today.
Jeff also gives a point-counterpoint to each issue which really make you ask yourself…What do I think about each issue? And why are all those people in the comments so wrong?!?
He broke it up into two separate posts, Part I and Part II, that cover these hot-button topics:
Keep reading →
