Champagne, real Champagne from the Champagne region of France est très chère -- it’s very expensive. In my experience, Champagne priced under $50 is money down the drain. New baby? Huge career promotion? Yeah, fork out the cash and buy the good stuff, otherwise don’t bother. The good news is that there are heaps of inexpensive and equally satisfying alternative sparkling … [Read more...] about VINUM, ET AL: FESTIVE FIZZIES
Wine
VINUM, ET AL: Wines, Waves, Wilderness…Weed
Wine ~ Waves ~ Wilderness. That’s the Slogan You See on a Billboard on Highway 101 Near the Sonoma / Mendocino County Line. When I drive by the billboard, I can’t help but verbally augment the slogan with Weed. It sounds so much more poetic with the added syllable. It just begs the excess of alliteration and I am sure I’m not the only one to have the same thought. The era of … [Read more...] about VINUM, ET AL: Wines, Waves, Wilderness…Weed
Cannabis with Class: The Emerald Magazine’s 2nd Annual Pot Pairing
With heaping bowls of cannabis on every table, you could smell the enthusiasm of the guests in the air almost as strongly as the Loleta cheese and Sunrise Mountain Farms’ Lemon Kush at The Emerald Magazine’s Second Annual Pot Pairing. The pairing went off without a hitch on Saturday, September 10, 2016. With an array of wine, beer, food and of course copious amounts of … [Read more...] about Cannabis with Class: The Emerald Magazine’s 2nd Annual Pot Pairing
Wine Distributor Dump
A good wine list doesn’t have to be long, it just has to be, well, good. It’s a lot to ask for in most towns and cities across the country. Exceptions include world-class wine regions like Sonoma and Napa Valley. Otherwise, most wine lists are “distributor driven.” A distributor is the middle man. Some distributors are small operators who carry a portfolio of small production … [Read more...] about Wine Distributor Dump
Humboldt’s Craft Beverage Highlights
Humboldt County gets a lot of tourists coming to Northern California this time of year. Many come to get away from the heat, while many come to get away from general urban madness. As I like to tell folks who have never visited the area: “There’s not a lot of people or traffic, and we have loads of free parking.” We also produce loads of hand-crafted wines, hard ciders … [Read more...] about Humboldt’s Craft Beverage Highlights
