It took a while, but I’ve now joined the hundreds of other American wine lovers who are blogging, and I’ve got to say, it feels good to hop on the digital train.

I took my time for several reasons. One was simply a matter of physical constraints. I never felt like I had enough time to investigate the how-to’s of blogging, which involves technical aspects beyond my ken. Last year, I started to blog using a free online template (my rudimentary efforts are still floating around out there in cyberspace), but gave that up because the site looked as hokey as you’d expect a free site to look, and I just didn’t feel prepared enough to continue. (more…)

I came across the new “Future of Wine” report by the London wine merchant, Berry Brothers and Rudd, and it contains some predictions that are real eye-openers. I offer no comments; this is just to share.

Berry Brothers and Rudd has been selling wine for 310 years, and they tend to take the long view. The new report looks 50 years ahead, to the year 2058. Here are some of its more startling prophecies: (more…)

I recently came across a new wine book that kind of bothered me.

“Investing in Liquid Assets: Uncorking Profits in Today’s Global Wine Market” is by David Sokolin, the third-generation scion of the well-known New York wine merchant, D. Sokolin Co. As you can tell by the title, the book is on how to invest in so-called “investment grade wine” and make a lot of money.

Sokolin’s basic thesis is that there are certain wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Sauternes, the Rhône, Champagne, Italy, Spain, Port, Australia and California that can out-perform the Dow Jones Industrial Average in bringing profit over time. As an example, he cites a man who bought ‘89 Haut-Brion for less than $200 a bottle. In 2007, cases of it sold for $12,000 each. (more…)

I’ve begun holding winetasting seminars at Franklin Square Wine Bar, a hip new wine bar that recently opened on Broadway in my Upper Lake Merritt neighborhood, near downtown Oakland. Upper Broadway was wrecked by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but it’s roaring back, with new condos and commercial buildings, restaurants, art galleries and cafés, as well as Franklin Square Wine Bar. Here are some images of my May 4 tasting of various Pinot Noirs from the Pisoni Vineyard, in Monterey’s Santa Lucia Highlands, with my special guest, Gary Pisoni. (www.pisonivineyards.com)

Mr. and Mrs. Gary Pisoni with Steve. That’s proprietor Rick Mitchell in the background on the left.

Gary first planted the vineyard back in 1982, mainly to Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. “We didn’t know what to grow!” he told me. Today, of course, the vineyard is mainly known for its Pinot Noirs; wineries line up “from here to Napa, and from here to Santa Barbara, both ways,” to procure the grapes, Gary laughs. Only about a dozen wineries are lucky enough to actually be able to buy fruit from the 55-acre vineyard. In 1998, Gary launched his own Pisoni brand. (more…)