Slow food for a fast world

By Vanessa Wong

Slow food for a fast world_VW_Spring 2018

Read more >

From the Hadrosaur Comes the Mockingbird?

By Vanessa Wong

Baryonyx, Rhamphorhynchus, Pachycephalasaurus. These are dinosaur names that have become part of my current parlance in order to have engaging conversation with my 5 year old. I don’t recall from the time I was a kid the dinosaur names being so complicated, or so long and hard to pronounce, let alone impossible to remember. All […]

Read more >

Gain the World, Retain Your Soul

By Vanessa Wong

I know that I am going to sound like an old person when I say that young people these days (“Youts deez days!” as I shake my fist) think they can figure out how to do anything by simply watching a YouTube video. Don’t get me wrong. I have found some pretty good tutorials on […]

Read more >

Ceci, n’est pas un vin

By Vanessa Wong

A couple of years ago, I took my son Julian to see a performance at the Luther Burbank-Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa located right here in Sonoma County. Our seats were on the balcony section so we headed toward the stairway that led up to the upper seating area. Taking the first step I glanced up toward the stairway landing whereupon I saw on the high white wall, artwork consisting of intricate figures made of wire. My gaze panned across the width of the wall where rushing, dancing clusters of human forms spanned across like chattering, gesturing tumbleweeds.

Read more >

Zen and the Art of Fruit Maintenance

By Vanessa Wong

With the black and white monitor in my view, my obstetrician tapped the fuzzy image on the screen and said, “You are this close to being put on hospital bed-rest,” pinching the air to show me just how close.

Read more >

These Boots are Made for Walking

By Vanessa Wong

Yes, I am the winemaker but the other hat that I wear is my self-proclaimed job title of “Assistant Grapegrower.” That is to say, I help Nick in his job of farming our estate grapevines to make wine.

Read more >

Just Right

By Vanessa Wong

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to remember and retell a classic story? I was reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears to my 3 year-old son, Julian, and realized that I didn’t even have to read the text of the book.

Read more >

Vanessa Wong is…looking for yeast

By Vanessa Wong

I must confess, though I am not a total Luddite, I am not exactly what you’d call a cutting-edge techie, either.

Read more >

I Exert for Dirt

By Vanessa Wong

My husband Nick is somewhat of an amateur geologist, a rock hound of sorts. As anyone who has visited our vineyard probably knows, if you query him about soil he will be more than happy to bend your ear about the interesting geologic events that led to the formation of the Coastal Ranges of California.

Read more >

A Thesis of Kinesis

By Vanessa Wong

Being a mom to a single child, it is hard to imagine how my parents managed to take care of four children. I was the youngest of a brood of girls so I envisage that it was either reliance on sibling supervision and/or partly benign neglect that was the approach to childcare.

Read more >

Getting Flack for Floc

By Vanessa Wong

Earlier this summer our little Sonoma Coast family gathered with the rest of the Peays for a momentous trip to the southwest of France. Before we left for the journey, I opened up my wine atlas of France to check out what wine regions we would be in or nearby.

Read more >

Anticipa-A-A-tion, It’s Making Me Wait

By Vanessa Wong

My female compatriots think I married a renaissance man. My husband Nick picked out my engagement ring all by himself. Despite having absolutely no guidance from me, I not only approved of his selection but also loved it. When I share this with inquiring friends, Nick groans, “Why do you have to tell people?”

Read more >

Bringing Up Baby, Syrah

By Vanessa Wong

I used to tell people that as grape-growers, Nick and I have 60,000 babies: that, (or to be exact, 58,754) is the number of vines we farm.

Read more >

Picking When Ripe-The Gestation of a Grape?

By Vanessa Wong

If you ask me what I believe in, I’d have to say I believe in biology. That is, I believe things on this here planet work in biological systems. So I think about most aspects of life in biological terms. People often ask me how I determine when to pick grapes. This is an interesting question.

Read more >

Picking When Ripe -The Gestation of a Grape?

By Vanessa Wong

If you ask me what I believe in, I’d have to say I believe in biology. That is, I believe things on this here planet work in biological systems. So I think about most aspects of life in biological terms. People often ask me how I determine when to pick grapes. This is an interesting question.

Read more >