What word do you suppose fills in the blank? Drink? I was thinking “Product.” Wine either is, or isn’t, just a product. If it is, then it’s just price break to quality, and a rating. That’s all you need to… Read More ›

Thelonious Monk
Pro Tools: Ingredient Labeling, Pre-Industrial Winemaking, & The Seventeen Syllables of Wine.
Ridge Vineyards is adding ingredients to its back labels. ~ ~ “Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.” –… Read More ›
A Quiet Sip …
Today, I remember Mad Thad. Born on March 28th, 1923. He would have been 90 years old. A Michigan man. He played with everyone, a true populist. The democracy of Hard Bop. Dexter Gordon, Milt Jackson, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus,… Read More ›
Things I’m Thankful For …
I am an admittedly idiosyncratic traditionalist, in that I am rarely much for traditional traditions, but am conversely rather boffo for my own rather less-than-traditional iterations thereof; which makes it all the more of a personal revolution in the offing… Read More ›
Is Wine Is Or Is Wine Ain’t Art: Charlie Parker, Tom Wark, and the Question of Intentionality
Is Wine Is Or Is Wine Ain’t Art: Charlie Parker, Tom Wark, and the Question of Intentionality Today is the birthday of Charlie Parker, one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz, and in thinking on his legacy,… Read More ›
Zap! You Love Zinfandel! – Kablam! You Love ZAP!
Pow! There’s big news in ZAPland! Ask yourself, what do Ridge Vineyards, Biale Vineyards, Terra D’Oro Winery, and Starry Night Winery have in common? Answer? We’re all board members of ZAP! And YOU may remember ZAP from such events as the … Read More ›
Classics: The Gospels of Pauls — Part II — THE BIG REVEAL!
For a thorough refresher on Part I, please click here. As to a summary, it was the 3rd anniversary of our blog going live. And it was the birthday of the late, great jazz bassist Paul Chambers. To celebrate, a… Read More ›