Laura Ness

Do you think that pot will take a huge bite out of wine sales or is this just a tempest in a teapot? Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on which state you’re in, literally and figuratively.

by Laura Ness Owner/Winegrower Bradley Brown of Big Basin Vineyards has been on a long, tumultuous journey as a self-taught winemaker in the middle of...

by Laura Ness With a simple pair of shears and a compassion for saving trees and bushes others thought were simply in the way, the...

Regardless of the size of a winegrowing region or the number of wineries or vineyards in it, the biggest challenge is continuing to attract visitors in an ever-evolving marketplace. For many of them, add the challenges of a not large enough budget, not enough hours in the day, and not enough hands on deck.

Draper recently announced his retirement after 46 vintages, turning over the keys of the kingdom to a new group of winemakers in the Santa Cruz Mountains, eager to make their mark, yet cognizant of the enormous footsteps left by his departure, not to mention the pressure of sustaining that larger-than-life legacy.

Sommeliers and wine directors see and taste a lot of wines. What gets their attention? What’s the best way to get attention? We asked them. They were not shy.

Coming up with one of those enormous mega wine lists that typify the high-end dining experience seems a daunting task. What goes through the mind of a sommelier in putting that together? If they’re motivated by garnering an award from Wine Spectator, they know the territory they need to cover and some of the big names they need to include. But not all sommeliers and wine directors are driven by awards.

by Laura Ness In just two short hours and 71 lots representing 14 of Sonoma’s 17 appellations, the inaugural Sonoma County Barrel Auction raised $460,000....

by Laura Ness When you put on a highly successful event the first time at bat, you have momentum that drives you to keep the...

by Laura Ness Held at Quail Lodge, the Santa Lucia Highlands Trade Tasting on March 21, united a hearty crowd of winemakers, wine brokers, sommeliers,...

There’s a new generation in wine. Fathers and Sons working together is nothing new and certainly not exclusive to the wine industry, but women are increasingly breaking into wine, and some of them come from within established wine families. Just in time for the holidays, we’d like to share some heartwarming stories about how fathers and daughters that are making a difference in the wine business. Let’s meet Marc Mondavi and his daughters, Alycia and Angelina from Aloft Wines, along with Chuck Wagner and his daughter Jenny (Caymus and Emmolo), Kurt Schoeneman and his daughter, Sara, her husband Guy Pacurar and their daughter, Ella (Fathers & Daughters).

by Laura Ness It seems that people have been searching for “El Dorado” ever since this continent was discovered. The literal meaning of the term,...

Going into the Craft Beverage Expo held last week at the Santa Clara Convention Center, my curiosity was piqued by the very use of the term, “craft”. How can it be applied to companies that have reached the size and scope of Firestone, and in the same breath be used on a tiny brand like Bootstrap Brewing in Niwot, CO? It seems this is a rather universally held curiosity: it was a lively topic during the opening remarks at the Expo during Thursday morning’s presentation featuring Paul Evers, President and Chief Creative Director of tbd agency (sic), and it resonated with everyone interviewed for this story. Controversy

by Laura Ness Listening to the presentations at the 21st annual Central Coast Insights, I couldn’t help but come away with these observations: The majority of...

Held for the first time in Paso Robles, the annual conference organized by the Wine Industry Symposium Group, attracted nearly 200 attendees from all facets of the wine industry. They learned about the current state of the Central Coast from bankers, lawyers, growers, wine makers, M & A experts, market research analysts, grape brokers and troublemakers.