Hello, happy weekend, and thank you for being patient with me while I went on a brief hiatus. I am back, and whoa what a week to come back to. If you haven’t seen my latest articles come out, this week I had my Biodynamics 101 published through the Napa Valley Wine Academy (where I study for my WSET Diploma) as well as a piece asking the age old question “What Does ‘Minerality’ Mean in Wine?” for Wine Enthusiast. So be sure to check those out.

I also participated in an Instagram Live chat with Jason Haas, proprietor of Tablas Creek Vineyard. If you missed the live version, be sure to watch the recording on the Tablas IGTV channel.

And if that wasn’t enough Wine Business Monthly also repurposed my 2019 article “Is Your Winery Website ADA Compliant,” given all the new lawsuits that are coming to the forefront. (PS If you winery website is not ADA compliant, you’re definitely limiting your customer base. So make sure your space, whether virtual or IRL is a welcoming environment for all wine lovers.)

Last but not least—I actually posted a recipe this week! Hah! Yes, now that I have *some* space to breathe, I’m able to pick up a few hobbies again. You know, like reading a book and baking. So, if you like cookies definitely check this double dose of cookie awesomeness—I’ve one for the healthy eaters and one for the indulgent. Either way they’re tasty.

I think that’s it from me at the moment. As always, scroll through some of the latest wine news at your leisure. Enjoy and thanks for popping by.

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Happy Easter Weekend for those who celebrate. Hope everyone’s Spring season is off to a great start. This week’s wine-newsy round-up has a plethora of interesting topics. I particularly loved reading about how French wineries are employing refugees to help out during the current labor shortage; the optimism woven through the South African wine industry despite trying times; of course there’s the reality check of the latest news surrounding drought and wildfires in both Australia and California; and for all my WSET study buddies out there, check out this profile piece on Syrah.

Don’t forget to scroll down to read independent insight from the Blogs. I’ll toot my own horn for a second: This week I made my debut on Tim Atkin‘s site speaking about California vintners struggle with and perseverance through climate change. (See Survivor Vines.)

And if you missed my blog post for the week, be sure to find out more about California’s newest AVA.

Thanks as always for hanging out with me.

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I’ll keep this intro short and sweet. By the time you read this, I’ll be sitting in another WSET course, studying away. This week I’ve pulled a good variety of wine related news from around the world, incorporating everything from the wines of Greece, cork production, New Zealand red wines to watch for, modern day Douro wines and winemaking, the stink bug that’s invaded UK vineyards, and so very much more. Hopefully you have some time to relax, scroll through, and read what suits your fancy. Enjoy!

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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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