One good reason why I’m the winehiker

Date: Mon, Apr 7, 2008 Wine Tasting

I read Joe Roberts’ post this morning on 1WineDude about how smoking can diminish the value of tasting wine, and immediately felt obliged to respond. After all, I grew up in a family in which cigarette smoking was nearly de rigueur - everybody smoked, upwards of 3 packs a day. I remember occasionally volunteering to cook for both [...]

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Back to work, fool speed ahead

Date: Tue, Apr 1, 2008 Wine Tasting

As you may have noticed, gentle reader, I’ve been absent from all things blogadelic lately. My contract of 22 months at VMware IT had ended as February had come to a close, and while I had intended to spend some vacation time on the trails admiring a bounty of Spring wildflowers, I quickly found myself [...]

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Goodbye constant frustration, hello Spring

Date: Sat, Mar 8, 2008 Wine Tasting

A Winter of Discontent Over the past few weeks and months I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with my computer’s decreasing abilities to perform even the most simple tasks. I’ve tried scrubbing them out, I’ve tried soaking them out, but I still ended up with those pesky ring-around-the-can’t-do-anything-with-this-PC blues. I had run countless diagnostics that told me my computer [...]

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Links for 2008-02-26 [del.icio.us]

Date: Wed, Feb 27, 2008 Wine Tasting

• Open That Bottle Night: 2003 Sarah’s Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir
  A shimmering yet dark ruby spectacle, medium purple-pink at the edges, luscious legs, faint aroma of freckle fruit and Milk Duds. Oh, and 15.9% alcohol. Did I say that I love this wine?

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2008 Open That Bottle Night links

Date: Tue, Feb 26, 2008 Wine Tasting

Open That Bottle Night: 2003 Sarah’s Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir A shimmering yet dark ruby spectacle, medium purple-pink at the edges, luscious legs, faint aroma of freckle fruit and Milk Duds. Oh, and 15.9% alcohol. Did I say that I love this wine? (tags: otbn wine pinot noir sarahs vineyard santa clara valley tasting)

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Open That Bottle Night: 2003 Sarah’s Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir

Date: Tue, Feb 26, 2008 Wine Tasting

Saturday evening was a busy one in my wine world. Not only was it the last Saturday of February and therefore this year’s Open That Bottle Night - the ninth annual - but it was also the night my friend Vindu brought me a case of Juice Crew Red. Vindu wasn’t due to arrive until much [...]

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Saving myself from incipient vapidity

Date: Thu, Feb 21, 2008 Wine Tasting

I must admit that lately I seem to have all the powers of concentration of a flea. And my recent writing on this blog - if you can call it writing - shows it. Oh, the vapidity! Alas, ever since the turn of the year, my schedule has achieved a supremely high level of hecticity (I have [...]

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Flowering acacia, harbinger of Spring

Date: Sat, Feb 16, 2008 Wine Tasting

Springtime, and the acacias are bloomin’ Southern California will see one more day Dreamland, and business is boomin’ Birds are a-singin’, as I drift away. - from “The Hollywood Waltz” by The Eagles One Of These Nights, 1975 When I first heard the opening lines of this bittersweet Eagles’ ballad back in the Spring of 1976, I didn’t yet know what [...]

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Reprise: On love, wine, and the natural world

Date: Thu, Feb 14, 2008 Wine Tasting

This Valentine’s Day, I don’t think I could share my  thoughts with you any better than by presenting today what I wrote just one year ago. Year by year, the sentiments that follow continue to drive my heart. Happy Valentine’s Day, my friend.   American naturalist and essayist John Burroughs once wrote: “A sense of the power and [...]

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Wine Blogging Wednesday #42: 2000 Boroli Barolo

Date: Wed, Feb 13, 2008 Wine Tasting

  “Decant today, and you will smile tonight.”  

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Tomorrow on Winehiker Witiculture: Just Seven Words

Date: Tue, Feb 12, 2008 Wine Tasting

I don’t seem to have a lot of time to write a lot of blogwords lately, so this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday assignment appeals to me. It might have appealed to me anyway, seeing as how I fundamentally love the mental challenge of wordcraft. This month’s assignment? Describe an Italian red wine in just seven words. Our [...]

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Links for 2008-02-04 [del.icio.us]

Date: Tue, Feb 5, 2008 Wine Tasting

• The Cattleman's Stress Test.
  Are you stressed? If you're not sure, here's how to determine if you should begin a regular hiking program.
• Concerned about your health? Go take a hike.
  Hiking can help you lose weight, improve your physical well-being, reduce tension, enhance your mental health, and above all, help you manage stress.
• Hiking benefits health
  From Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington: "Your body will feel better, your head will feel clearer, and your stress level will have decreased. You'll want to hike again." I believe it.

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Work out the kinks with these-here links

Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2008 Wine Tasting

The Cattleman’s Stress Test. Are you stressed? If you’re not sure, here’s how to determine if you should begin a regular hiking program. (tags: stress test health) Concerned about your health? Go take a hike. Hiking can help you lose weight, improve your physical well-being, reduce tension, enhance your mental health, and above all, help you manage stress. (tags: health [...]

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Concerned about your health? Go take a hike.

Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2008 Wine Tasting

I admit that I have a problem with stress. In fact I have for years, ever since Santa Clara Valley first became Silicon Valley. I’m sure you can imagine. But I’ve learned to manage my stress with a regular balance of meditation, stretching, preventive chiropractic, healthy diet, plenty of sleep, and a regular devotion to walking and [...]

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