Is Wine in the Alcohol Business?
Recently, a reporter asked me if I thought the wine industry was doing enough to… Continue reading
To access this post, you must log in or Subscribe to WineSpeed to view.
On Being Nominated “Person of the Year”
A year and a half ago, on a late winter morning walk, I found myself worried for the future of wine. Something had shifted in the cultural zeitgeist. Wine—which I had always thought of as… Continue reading
The Mindfulness of Wine
What “Sober Curious” Gets Wrong
I have never understood the term Sober Curious. It’s the kind of phrase that seems… Continue reading
To access this post, you must log in or Subscribe to WineSpeed to view.
Why I Don’t Give Up
Once, I was in a plane crash. The plane had been hit by lightning twice, knocking out its electrical system and landing gear, forcing it to a crash landing, in the dark, late at night.… Continue reading
Drinking Deception—How Cannabis Steals Wine’s Story
“The next time you attend an upscale gathering, don’t be surprised if alongside—or instead of—the… Continue reading
To access this post, you must log in or Subscribe to WineSpeed to view.
BRAVE NEW WORLD…Wine at a Critical Crossroad
Following is an edited version of my keynote speech to the DTC Conference in Monterey,… Continue reading
To access this post, you must log in or Subscribe to WineSpeed to view.
HIDING GUILT AND RACISM
I live in California which has the highest share of undocumented crop workers in the country. But California is not alone. In the U.S. as a whole, 42% of agricultural workers are undocumented according to… Continue reading
What I Wish I Could Tell the Surgeon General
The Insidious Dangers of Dry January
My parents, like so many of the generation who became parents in the 1940s and 50s, drank spirits—in their case, Seagrams whiskey highballs. They drank a lot of them. Too many in fact. As a… Continue reading
I HOPE I REMEMBER THIS NIGHT
I wrote the following poem on the evening of September 21, 2022 after attending a… Continue reading
To access this post, you must log in or Subscribe to WineSpeed to view.
NOTHING LEFT TO SAY?
The End of Wine Writing
I have been a wine writer for nearly 40 years. And yet, for the first time in my career, I’m worried. Despondent even. Wine writing as a profession, a craft, even sometimes an art, is… Continue reading
The Magic of Wine
Over the last few days, I’ve felt there is a lot of darkness in the… Continue reading
To access this post, you must log in or Subscribe to WineSpeed to view.
The South America Wine Guide – A Book Review
One of the ways you know you’re reading a great wine book is that you… Continue reading
To access this post, you must log in or Subscribe to WineSpeed to view.