Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard, Photography by Ian Andreae
Call him what you will: Wild man, prognosticator, “Defender of Misunderstood and Underappreciated Doon-trodden Cépages of the Earth…” Randall Grahm is also a radical “terroirist”; no matter what else you get from his wines, he wants you to get where they come from.
To this end, Grahm is really digging in the dirt for his latest project – his attempt at a legacy and a true American vin de terroir. He’s hybridizing his best-adapting vines and planting the resulting seeds, without any idea of what will actually happen, in his new vineyard in San Juan Bautista, California. Continue Reading »
Election time is fast approaching and the citizens of Washington State are being faced with two initiatives to get the state out of the liquor industry. The one that has received the most press, Initiative 1100, was backed heavily by Costco Wholesale of Issaquah, Washington who has previously lost court battles to be able to distribute alcohol through their own distribution channels, basically disbands the three-tier system. There is also Initiative 1105, which would close state liquor stores and license private parties to sell and distribute spirits. I-1105 has been backed solely by two existing distributors in Washington, Odom Corporation and Young’s Market Company (K&L Beverage Company). Continue Reading »
Thursday, August 19th a feast of Edwardian proportions will take place at the storied Ebenezer’s Pub in Lovell, Maine. The chef for this epic feast will be none other than Sonoma, California’s own “Home Brew Chef” Sean Paxton (famous for preparing the world’s largest beer dinner).
The lucky bastards who get to attend this ode to gastronomica will be dining in style on dishes paired with a rare bottles from Ebenezer’s proprietor Chris Lively. What sort of pairings will they be? I’m talking 16 mind-blowing courses such as lobster poached in foie gras paired with Cantillon Crianza Helena and crepinettes of coriander cured pork belly, chanterelles and leeks paired with Wild Pannepot De Struise Brouwers. Continue Reading »
On an incomparable August eve, Mayo Family Winery threw one of their famous industry mixers at their Glen Ellen tasting room. Peeps from many a tasting room attended, sipping everything from the Barbera, to highly heralded Mayo Zinfandels. They only produce about 7,500 cases total per year, limited distribution.
Mayo President, Jeffrey Mayo, was at his own bar, carving up tri-tip for sandwiches, while Rich and Bill were pouring on the other side of the room. There was also a staggering array of yummies cooked up by Mayo’s own chef, Max Porter-Elliot, on a table just a skip to the right. These tables, the entire night, were swarmed by the famished winery troops, who enjoyed Chef Porter-Elliot’s applauded cuisine while visiting the Mayo Reserve Room for a pleasantly altering wine-food pairing adventure. Continue Reading »
Well, we’ve already witnessed what beer loving roboticists like to do in their free time, but what happens when the beer loving Yelp engineers get extra time on their hands? They engage in “hackathons” and invent the Kegmate, an iPad-powered “Kegbot”.
And for those of you who are geeky enough … errr brilliantly intelligent enough to understand the cryptic language known as “computer engineering”, the kids over at Yelp have been kind enough to detail the entire project on their blog for anyone brave enough to recreate it on their own. Here is an excerpt from the blog:
Theory of Operation (An Overview): Sensors attached to the keg feed data into an Arduino microcontroller, which in turn communicates directly with the iPad via a serial connection. The iPad processes that data and displays it in a snazzy manner along with a description of the current brew. An RFID reader attached to the system allows users to ‘swipe in’ to KegMate and keep track of how much beer they’ve had, as well as assign a star rating for the beer currently in the keg (this is Yelp, after all). Continue Reading »
Rick Bakas and St. Supery Winery are hosting another installment of their virtual tasting series on September 2nd. The idea behind #Cabernet Day is that anyone, anywhere in the world, can contribute to the conversation simply by including the hashtag #Cabernet in their posts on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Gowalla, personal blogs, and all other forms of social media. People are encouraged to drink Cabernet the day of, and engage others doing the same with conversation, tasting notes, and suggestions. Continue Reading »
Two years ago, within only a few weeks of each other, both Mutineer Magazine and Blue Palms Brewhouse were established in Los Angeles, CA. We celebrated our 2nd Anniversary this past May 2010, with an epic Red Carpet Tasting Event and a rockin’ after party at Blue Palm Brewhouse. This Saturday, we encourage you join us and Blue Palms founder, Brian Lenzo, in celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of our good friends Blue Palms Brewhouse in Hollywood, California. Continue Reading »
Just when you thought Sanrio had exhausted the world market by putting its Hello Kitty label on anything and everything possible, the Japanese cartoon character has finagled its way into the realm of fine beverage. And in true Hello Kitty fashion, the company has put its face on a simple and basic commodity (water), and turned it into a cash cow. Continue Reading »
