Joe, good post, but the comment string is where the fun happens.

Me: "Hi, my name is John and I am a wine blogger. "
Others: "Hi John."
Me: "It has been two days since my last blog."
Others: Applause and "Easy Does It... One Day at a Time... Let Go, Let God... Keep Coming Back"

I didn't attend WBC because it conflicted with a major work event, but I would love to have had the opportunity to have Jim Conaway, Mike Dunne, and Steve Heimoff critique my work.

I have benefited from the criticism of others, and do not have such a puffed up ego that I think that my writing is perfect. Looking back at my past pieces, sometimes I wince or cringe.

Pouring for Ron Washam a couple of years ago, i remember the look of disappointment that came over his face when I described a wine as authentic. All wines are authentic, of course, and I have not used the word in describing wine since then. Last week, reading a post by Jo Diaz, I learned to stop referring to grape types as varietals, but instead to use the noun variety. Old dog, new tricks; I can and do learn.

I also don't think my writing matters all that much. If I told my readers to buy one single specific wine, I do not delude myself that sales would skyrocket or that a perceptible sales bump would occur. That said, when I describe an upcoming chef's wine dinner at a local restaurant in my hometown newspaper wine column, folks do buy tickets. I guess my readers trust the fat guy about food.

For good or ill, print writers will become fewer and fewer in the future as newspapers and magazines go the way of telegraphs and home phones, and people universally receive their news and entertainment in electronic media formats. Like today, the best writers will differentiate themselves by the quality of their writing; embrace quality writing, as a reader or writer.

Cheers,

John

Wine bringing joy just for the sake of joy...last week, after endless rains, the sun came out and I was standing in front of my tasting room with the door open absorbing sun when my neighboring tasting room hostess brought me a pink wine, a Graziano Sangiovese Rosato, released just that day in the tasting room. As I sipped, the UPS man showed up with a delivery for me of wines to be tasted, two white Bordeaux and two pink Bordeaux. Late that afternoon, after work, at an inter-winery mixer, I tasted yet another pink wine. Not fancy, not serious, although the Graziano was pretty damn good. I was reminded of every great pink wine from the Rosatos of Petroni and Muscardini to the Brut Rose of Bollinger. The day's wines were calling out to celebrate the end of winter and our too long winter-like spring, a joyous welcoming of summer. I am loving my new Jack Reacher paperback by Lee Child, but the end is rushing to meet me. I would be delighted if Mark Oldman's Brave New World of Wine were to follow on Reacher's heels.

Malcolm McDowell's Alex from Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange made bowlers cool forever.

I too would enjoy Charlie Olken's book, so please notice my hat as it has been thrown into the ring. Could you return my hat when you are done noticing it? It is raining winter storm style here in Sunny California's north coast wine country, and I need it to keep my head dry.

PA's ridiculous lack of availability and exorbitant pricing caused me to bring my wine in with me on business trips, or refrain from consumption. Taxes collected on free market sales is better than taxes not collected due to lost sales.

I don't taste anywhere close to the number of wines you and Steve taste, but my visit to Trinchero in April last year made their 2007 Trinchero Napa Valley, Clouds Nest Vineyard, Mt. Veeder $50 my favorite Cabernet Sauvignon tasted last year - and their 2007 Trinchero Napa Valley, Napa Valley $50 was my favorite Meritage tasted last year. Just great juice.

Steve, I was told that Mario's father Marcello was indeed the top winemaker for Gallo, and that Mario learned winemaking from his father in their family garage before his academic wine education at UC Davis, and work experience stints at Antinori and Quixote.

I was amazed to find wines that tasted so good priced so low, but understood that Trinchero's other wineries were making this world class wine affordable for those that stumble upon it.

We can give thanks to Sutter Home.

Oh, Joe, the Chicken Ranch Cab I tasted, the 2007, was just $35, so there may be some upward movement in prices on these great wines.

The Guenoc PS Vinogirl mentioned, their basic model with no options, has always been solid, maybe the best QPR in PS. One of my favorite PS's is the True Grit from Parducci in Mendocino County.

I've gone months without a single corked bottle; this was just the law of averages evening the score.

Yeah Joe, I've had five wines that were TCA tainted when opened in the last month. Corked wines are definitely alive and unwell.

I have a notebook for taking notes, but for impromptu tastings I will write on anything. At some media events, I write on the promotional materials provided. I attended some event tastings, ZAP, Dark & Delicious, Passion for Pinot, where without my notes I would have been unable to write a decent recap. Having a notebook to pull out when I found myself sitting with Ravenswood's Joel Peterson allowed me to use quotes of Joel's own words when I wrote a subsequent article. My current notebook is running out of unused pages, so if I win, well, the dude provides. Abides too.