What We Talk About When We Talk About Wine! A rare chance to slip inside the crimson rope and be an oeno-fly on the wall for Paul Draper-led tasting sessions at both Monte Bello and Lytton Springs, in the company… Read More ›
Virtual Verticals 
#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 ›
#RidgeSomms: Where The Ridge meets The Hill
Within the borders of Wine’s Metaphysical Country is a complexity of filigree and trellis; a latticework of weft and skein and weave; a many-tendril’d meshwork made of crossroad laid on crossroad, linked to crossroad. Art meets science here as the… Read More ›
#RidgeSomms: A Gentleman and an Expert
There are very many wine blogs. As of the last “official” count, there are over 1.2 million blogs that either self-define as wine blogs, or include enough content on wine to be classified as such. ~ Ok, that’s not actually… Read More ›
#RidgeSomms: I Cover The Waterfront
How about a Monte Bello vertical going back to 1977? How about a Monte Bello vertical going back to 1977? How about a Monte Bello vertical going back to 1977? ~ Michael Torino said it, and I haven’t forgotten it…. Read More ›
#RidgeSomms: One Mile High And Rising!
I’ll endeavor to roll like a composer for a moment, and see if I can’t harmonize a few contrapuntal threads. Melody # 1 — make it the bass line — goes a little something like this: If you know football,… Read More ›
#RidgeSomms: The Powers of Austin!
Great restaurants are of a place. They are an integral component in their regional eco-culinary oeno-system. They cannot, and should not, be considered separate – or separately – from their immediate environment. They are a thread in fabric, a note… 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 ›
Building The 2012 Monte Bello: Part II
We’ve just completed the second round of the Monte Bello Assemblage Tasting, and the blend is in! It was quite a remarkable tasting; somewhat unique in its architecture, as compared to some past editions, in that it was essentially divided… Read More ›
Assemblage Monte Bello: A Pictorial Remembrance
It was a truly beautiful morning; ripe with promise, alive with anticipation, resplendent with resplendence. For events of this scale, we park our own cars well out of the way, high above the vines. The walk down in the morning,… Read More ›
