I want to start with a brief statement about the New York Time’s piece that came out this week, revealing the testimonials of 21 female wine professionals who have been sexually abused by their male superiors. I can’t eloquently put into words all the feels I’ve been feeling since reading the article: sad, angry, hurt, betrayed, confused are just a few that come to immediate mind.

I am a woman who has always worked in male-dominated industries. Previous to becoming a part of the wine industry, before my career as a writer and editor, I was a professional fitness trainer. And even as a young person, student, child, the nature of my—I don’t know—attitude, personality, or something, is one in which I always found myself involved in things that are male dominant.

But I am one of the lucky ones. I am one of the lucky ones who have not been so brutally abused as the women in this article.

Liz Mitchell, Jane Lopes, Victoria James, Courtney Schiessl, Madeleine Thompson, Christina Chilcoat, Rachel van Til, Rania Zayyat, Ivy Anderson, Victoria James, Liz Dowty Mitchell, Alexandra Fox, J.R. Ayala, Courtney Keeling, Kate Ham.

I say their names because they deserve to be recognized for being strong in the face of adversity in its most disgusting form. For standing up when those who felt entitled enough to decide what these women were worth decided that they weren’t worth more than a body, a form, a thing to play with and throw away. For speaking up, not just for themselves, but on behalf of all women so things like this WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

I say their names because I am one of the lucky ones—but if one thing had been different, one decision made or not made, one circumstance shifted slightly, I may not have been that lucky. Would I have been strong enough to say something?

I’m not sure what will happen from here, but my hope is that we will evolve. Not just as an industry, but as a people. That from hearing these horrific things, maybe we can learn to respect each other. Maybe we can remember that Women’s Rights are Human Rights; Black Lives Matter; No Person is Illegal; Diversity Makes Us Stronger; Love is Love; and Kindness is Never Wasted. 

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Good morning my friends and happy weekend. Welcome to another episode of wine news. A couple of callouts: Please take a look at SevenFifty Daily’s coverage of how bev-alch industry pros are using their positions to speak out on important political issues. Jancis Robinson has some similar content on her blog. And a bit of a debatable topic from Eater—how are you enjoying the latest season of the Great British Bake-Off?

On a personal note, I FINALLY received my certificate and my pin for passing my WSET Level 3 (with Merit; Theory portion with distinction—yes I’m bragging a bit 🙃). I actually sat the exam last February and received my results in April, but due to all the COVID-crazy it took awhile to get the official documents. As most of you are aware, I’m now in the throws of Diploma studies—sitting my D2 next week (eek!) and have already scheduled my D3 exam dates (yes that’s plural—the test is JUST that long) for 2021.

Alright, that’s enough about me. Scroll through the news, get some independent insight from the Blogs. And, as always, leave a comment, shoot me a note, find me on social media and let me know how YOU’RE doing.

Cheers!

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Good weekend to you. Hope everyone is staying healthy and happy out there. I’ve been quite busy myself, hence lack of original content. But I assure you one of the things that’s keeping me busy are my WSET Diploma Studies, and I will have more D3 content coming soon. Meanwhile, my D2 looms over my head. (The test is in two weeks!)

But enough about me, there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the world. While Napa is taking tolls of damages done from the recent complex of fires, Sonoma is sending out warnings about how to prepare for the rainy season. Although, a bit of insider info: we’re under advisory for power outtages and. more wildfires as we enter another heatwave situation this weekend.

I’ve got an interesting section below entitled “Not Wine.” Find out what’s happening in the beer, spirit and food industries.

Of course, as always, don’t forget to scroll down to the Blogs for some independent insight.

Cheers!

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Happy weekend my friends. A brief fire update here, Glass Fire has, as of this Friday morning scorched 67,484 acres BUT we are now up to 74% containment. Woot. There have been 21 reported injuries, but I still have not read or heard of any Glass Fire-related deaths. Scroll below to see an update on the reported damaged wineries and what this will mean for the 2020 harvest and wine country business.

We’ve also got some tariff updates as well as some data around what COVID has really done to the wine industry in terms of sales volumes and value.

And definitely check out wine-searcher’s post about killing gender stereotypes in wine descriptions (think twice before describing that Pinot Noir as feminine), and Edgar Torres’s first person account about his experience as a Latino in the wine industry.

For a bit of comic relief, a must read is Wine Spectator’s tasting assessment of beer bottled in a dead squirrel, ant-infused gin, and beer brewed with whale testicles and smoked in sheep dung. Warning: Do not read while eating and wait at least 30 minutes after consuming a heavy meal.

Of course don’t forget to check out the blogs for some independent insight.

Cheers

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Fires. Fires are raging through Napa and Sonoma and it’s devastating to say the least. As of right now, 58,880 acres have burned across both counties and we’re at 5% containment. Though the list of wineries that have been affected continues to grow, I am happy to report that as of right now the number next to “deaths” remains a big fat 0.

There are so many different reports out there on the Glass Fire, I’ve tried to include the ones with “evergreen” content, like the Press Demo’s information on how to help those impacted, the most recent news (as of this writing), as well as those pieces I think did a great job covering key aspects of what’s going on in the region(s).

I can’t deny that these fires are impacting me in many ways. But I also can’t neglect what else is going on in the industry. Like this Zimbabwe sommelier who’s making waves in the way we think about and describe wine in an effort to create a more inclusive global wine industry; China creating a new wine style, indicative of its own terroir; India, going back to its roots, crafting spirits from the Mahua plant.

And, people, let’s not forget to laugh a little. How about some Hocus Pocus wine? No? Have you tried the Jalepeño Noir? Oh, and if you don’t mind a bit of shameless self-promotion, I was this week’s guest on the We Like Drinking Podcast, talking about the current state of the wine industry, wine journalism, with a few fun shenanigans thrown in.

If I can leave you with one thought, I will steal a line from Craig Becker of Somerston Estate, who has personally and professionally been affected by the fires, and said to me in a recent interview: “The buds will break again.”

Whether you want to take that figuratively or literally, I’ll leave that up to you. But, like all bad gas, I have to think and hope and pray that this too shall pass.

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