No, not nutty-crazy, nutty-nutty. Meaning, with nuts! With apologies to the allergic amongst you, this is a post in praise of nuts. Why nuts? Because they’re a bridge ingredient. How? Because their addition to a dish can make the previously… Read More ›

Ridge Vineyards
Once Lytton, Twice Shy, Babe …
The Monte Bello Retail Sales & Hospitality Team was today able to make a rare and wonderful trip to Lytton Springs, and it was an adventure sure to be long-remembered. We walked the Lytton West and East Bench Vineyards with… Read More ›
Unity In Variety: The Single-Vineyard Wisdom of Felix Mendelssohn
It is the birthday of the great Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn today; he would have been 205 years old. And so we think of his music; myself, I think of the great Songs Without Words. Which is, well-made, a wine;… Read More ›
The Official 2013 Harvest Report!
As we approach the *Monte Bello Collector Component Tasting (first of the three “assemblage” events en route to bottling the new vintage), anticipation is rising, and questions abound as regards the 2013 vintage. What was it like? How will the… Read More ›
The Blog Post I’ve Been Waiting Almost Five Years To Publish!
In the early days of “4488: A Ridge Blog,” the idea never even crossed my mind. Even at Post #1000, it seemed little more than a mirage shimmering in the distance; untouchable, unearthly, unreal. But in recent weeks, it became… Read More ›
Re-Experience The Zinfandel Experience!
Were you there? Wasn’t it amazing? You were! Yes! What a day! A Sunny January in San Francisco, at The Presido, surrounded by 10,000 Zinfandels, and happy people drinking them? Yes! What, you weren’t? I’m so sorry! We missed you!… Read More ›
Double Descanting: scenes from RIDGEtalks – Talking Zinfandel, Talking Sub-Parcel Harvest
Ever wondered what we mean when we talk about “building” a wine? Curious as to what “sub-parcel” harvesting is? Interested in the secrets behind how minimum intervention complexity is made possible? Ever wondered what the difference is between Lytton Springs… Read More ›