Goodbye, readers and drinkers.  It’s been a great time. Cheers, Farley (winepoet) [Read more]

More reminiscence before I go.   Yesterday I showcased some of my favorite wines, and now I’d like to highlight the most fun and interesting moments in wine. Helping make wine several times. Here is one of them… When my mom and my brother came to visit, BK made us a great meal. Good times! A very successful Open That Bottle Night When my rubber chicken came along for a day at the winery and got into a barrel of trouble Christmas morning with blueberry & ricotta pancakes and mimosas Marching in the Pride paradewith Rosenblum and Diageo And some great winery visits: Lazy Creekwith all its charm, though I hope (as do my fellow wine bloggers) that things won’t change too much now that they sold Patz & Hall, where we got... [Read more]

Reflection runs rampant. Here are a few of my favorite wines over the past year or so: 2005 Novy Parsons’ Vineyard Syrah 2006 L’Aventure Rose’ 2003 Sky Saddle Twin Oaks Vineyard Zinfandel 2004 Escafeld Petit Verdot 2004 Avignonesi Rosso di Montelpuliciano 2006 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Kabinett feinher 2006 Bonfire Vineyards Shyne Chardonnay Some were had with wonderful meals and some by themselves.  All of them stood out, and it was fun to “retaste” them, if only in my memories…. Image source:Farley Walker [Read more]

I finally made it to the Oak Barrel Winecraft in Berkeley.  Reason?  To pick up another vinegar culture, so I can try, try again turning wine into vinegar.  Therefore, I had to refill my barrel with water to seal it for the third time, in order to avoid the mess I made last time. Just now added the components to get this thing going. Again. And this whole process got me thinking.  I keep trying with the vinegar, learning from each mistake, though I can’t say I haven’t gotten angry and let a few curse words fly.  I kept at it with the basil, and after two years and many attempts, I finally have a healthy plant outside among the others.  Which leads to happy thoughts of caprese, pesto, an easy way to fancy up scrambled eggs,... [Read more]

I was going to say it feels like losing a limb or having a pet run away, but that’s too melodramatic.  After all, it’s just a blog. So, I decided it’s more like having a car that you love get totaled or maybe even stolen.  You cared about it, put gas into it regularly, washed it when you had time, and showed it off to friends.  It got you places you needed to go, and you usually had a good time getting there. Dinners, parties, job interviews, work, vacations.  That is what my blog has been to me.  When I first began blogging, it made me pay more attention to what I was drinking, where I was going, why the wine business is what it is.  Then I switched to Behind the Vines, and I’d like to think I kicked things up... [Read more]