WineTasteTV.com - Terroir - Dirty Talk on Wine

Meet the "Futures"

Dirk — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:43:00 PST

Yes, we know that there is more than one "Future." In fact, this year, we have 13 "Futures." (Multiple "Futures" sounds like some sort of vino-schizophrenia.) (Did you read "Popular Science" when you were a kid? It was always predicting how we would live in the future. I don't have a flying car...and I could use one! They never mentioned the internet...) You get the idea, they were wrong. (but it was fun to read and ...

Tractor Jam

Dirk — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:38:00 PST

There was a tractor jam at Dragonfly Vineyard this week. There aren't any traffic lights and Aaron didn't have a traffic copter in the area but it might have been needed. Four tractors on a four-acre vineyard seem like a lot, but each had its purpose to fully integrate our cover crops. It is the time of year when we have to knock down the cover crops to help the soils and aid in frost protection ...

Don't Read too Much about Food...(It is better to enjoy it!)

Dirk — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:49:00 PST

I just finished reading Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food." In spite of being dangerously close to qualifying as a "self help" book, it was very good. (I tend to avoid self help books because there would be no logical place to stop if I ever started in on that Herculean task of my own self improvement.) Michael (now that I have read the book, we are on a first name basis...other than the fact ...

Half-Track Takes on Vineyard

Dirk — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:57:00 PST

When I was a kid, I had a toy half-track. It was a WWII truck with tires in the front and treads in the back. (That's why it is called a half-track.) They were probably in a lot of those movies about D Day, A Bridge Too Far, Saving Private Ryan, Kelly's Heroes... I never expected to see a half track in our vineyards but we have one (It's orange instead of green and comes ...

Spring Release

Dirk — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:14:00 PST

In spite of it being frost season, spring has arrived. I know that spring is here because the change to daylight saving time has zapped me. We have had a bunch of frost recently (For Californians, that means we had to defrost the windshield for a couple of minutes...or even scrape it!) but the vines haven't pushed out quite enough to require turning on the frost protection sprinklers or fans. We are hoping that we get ...

Breakfast with Tiffany's

Dirk — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:17:00 PST

Wine blogs don't normally talk about breakfast but these are hardly normal times. You may even harbor views about someone who would drink wine in the morning, but sometimes it is fun to break the "rules." At the Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Dolce paired up with Tiffany's for a wine breakfast. Call it the ultimate breakfast if you must. (It was the first event to sell out and up to the last ...

Open That Bottle Night

Dirk — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:16:00 PST

When a winery says "Open that bottle", we may start to sound suspect but the words come from Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher of the Wall Street Journal. Ten years ago, they started "Open That Bottle Night" as a way to get people to open a special bottle of wine that they were saving for a special occasion. I love their idea. It gets to the heart of what counts in wine; sharing it, drinking ...

Pull Up The Covers

Dirk — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:26:00 PST

Things are growing in our vineyards. But, the "things" are not vines. In these times of financial crisis, it is nice to know that something is "up." Aaron, our viticulturist, says, "cover crops are up." Yes, they have been growing throughout the winter, but it is the purpose and the importance of cover crops that is up. They have become critical. It is almost like farming two crops; grapes and cover crops. Each requires its own ...

Smart Phone

Dirk — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:00:00 PST

Smart Phone

Oakville Taste Treats

Dirk — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:08:00 PST

Oakville Taste Treats

Haiku

Dirk — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 01:45:00 PST

Haiku

Tasting Quiz

Dirk — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:21:00 PST

Tasting Quiz

Bonfire Smores

Dirk — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:03:00 PST

Bonfire Smores

Corkscrews

Dirk — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:15:00 PST

Corkscrews

Tasting is Work

Dirk — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:13:00 PST

Tasting is Work

You Did Whatoe!!!oe

Dirk — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:18:00 PST

You Did What?!!!?

Nuts...a small warning

Dirk — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:34:00 PST

Nuts...a small warning

It's Only Rotten Mold... But I Like it, Like it!

Dirk — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:31:00 PST

It's Only Rotten Mold... But I Like it, Like it!

Cooking for Chefs

Dirk — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:09:00 PST

Cooking for Chefs

Pressing Issues

Dirk — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:54:00 PST

Pressing Issues

BBQ Break

Dirk — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:39:00 PST

BBQ Break

Pairing Golf and Wine

Dirk — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:42:00 PST

Pairing Golf and Wine

Pump Over

Dirk — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:33:00 PST

Pump Over

Forcast...

Dirk — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:44:00 PST

Forcast...

No More Wet Feet

Dirk — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:22:00 PST

No More Wet Feet

It's Harvest...8 Ball in the Corner Pocket

Dirk — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:07:00 PST

It's Harvest...8 Ball in the Corner Pocket

Punching can be good

Dirk — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:48:00 PST

Punching can be good

100 Reasons for Blogging about a Blog....

Dirk — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:06:00 PST

Last week one of our wines received a wonderful review. That isn't really news. But, it was the first time that I remember one of our wines getting 100 points. Robert Whitley has quite the track record as a wine writer. However, the first time we met, I think that we spent time discussing the perfect Ramos Fizz. He is a recognized authority on spirits and I rely on his advice when trying to find ...

Dining by Starlight...

Dirk — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:21:00 PST

You don't have to know astronomy to be able to enjoy dinner under the stars. We know because we did it on Saturday and proved how little we knew about the night sky. (The first star we commented upon was actually a planet...but it looked good.) Last year we had a true astronomer there to show us Jupiter's moons and other cool things. This year, Aurelien, the last of the evening's performers from the brand ...

Blessed...

Linda — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:46:00 PST

Yesterday we blessed the harvest at Far Niente. I love that moment each year. It's a tradition that dates to the earliest times of farming. It is simple and touching. We always do it the same way. All of us gather beside the picked grapes in the shade of the middle road behind our old stone winery. The Carmelite Father conducts a few readings and prayers before dousing the grapes and the rest of us ...

Fall Has Arrived...Time to Prep Barrels

Dirk — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:07:00 PST

I tend to remember years from Fall to Fall. (My Fifth grade teacher, Miss Wells (don't ask me how I remember that- I don't know) or harvesting the 1991 Far Niente Cabernet while a hot wind torched too much of Oakland. Lots of different activities define "Fall." School busses, (back to school sales...everywhere), soccer schedules, cool mornings, yellow leaves, political conventions and their surprises (not going there), Labor Day, and especially HARVEST!!! We will start picking ...