Websites can be a blessing, websites can be a curse. For a producer such as Ridge –with a long history, deep library, and philosophy-first aesthetic– a website is both a challenge and an opportunity. How best to chronicle a cornucopia… Read More ›
Ridge Memorabilia 
#RidgeSomms: It Was The Best Of Times …
It was the best of times, it was the best of times. Not unlike a broodingly alive, spiritually roller-coasted emo-drama teenager the morning after graduation ceremonies, I am currently a certifiable mash-up of emotions. When the music’s over, how to… Read More ›
Sommelier Symposium: Paul Draper, Twelve Top Somms, and You!
The 2013 Ridge Vineyards Sommelier Symposium: It Was The Best Of Times The 2013 Ridge Vineyards Sommelier Symposium began on Monday, May 20th, just shy of 9am, on the Monte Bello Crush Pad, under a glowing Santa Cruz Mountains sun…. Read More ›
Donn Reisen, John Coltrane, Wang Wei, and the Kindredity of Wine
Very early on in my tenure at Ridge Vineyards, I made the decision to play only The Jazz in the Monte Bello Tasting Room. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this decision was noted and noticed by a notably wider… Read More ›
No Latitude For Platitude In The Attitude Of Gratitude -or- Thank You For Attending Our Fall Release Event at Monte Bello!
For us here at Monte Bello, the celebration is a wrap. The wines poured, the bottles emptied. The pizzas cooked, the pizzas eaten. The music played, the songs completed. The smiles, the handshakes, the hugs. All wrapped up now. And… Read More ›
Our Liquid Of Ritual
Oh, the things wine has seen! You can really find yourself getting quite emotional thinking about it, if you just let it happen. On the other hand, it’s also quite easy to fall into the other trap; you’re a maker of wine,… Read More ›
Thoughts On Being Best Overall – AKA – The Final Countdown!
It’s THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! Meaning, it’s the LAST DAY to vote for your favorite wine blogs in the 2012 Wine Blog Awards! And dig this, we’re nominated in not one but two categories, including the grand high llama of awards,… Read More ›
My Anniversary at Ridge!
Every year, on this day, I celebrate the signing of my job offer letter with Ridge Vineyards. It was a big day in my life. A very big day. It’s been a big day for a lot of people. Erle… Read More ›
#ZinFest: The Movie
Hard to believe ZAP’s #ZinFest has already come and gone. We anticipate it for so long, then suddenly, it slips right past us, and the anticipatory cycle starts anew. Fortunately, via the miracles and mechanisms of modern guerilla theater, we are… Read More ›
A Vineyard In Winter -or- Of Course You Can Go Home Again, But Is There Someone Waiting? -or- Homecomings Of The Wine Gnome
The Vineyard in Winter. It strikes me that a January vine is not unlike an empty-nested parent. The children are gone now. Bouncing from weird relationship to weird relationship. Bouncing checks. Bouncing in beanbags that obscure the growth of mushrooms in the… Read More ›
