How and Why we Farm the Way We Do: A Non-Manifesto Manifesto
Manifesto_NP Final_Fall 2022
It’s Official: Peay Farms in the West Sonoma Coast AVA
It’s Official_AP Article_Fall 2022
You Taste Like Dirt
Last week I tasted with a wine writer I previously knew only by reputation. She is the well-known author of a famous wine book and now, as seems appropriate, she has a robust social media presence. She came out to the estate vineyard on a wet, winter day and after walking out to the knoll and returning through the redwood …
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap…Yaaaaaaa!
People often ask me about the seasonal rhythm of my work as a winemaker. In the fall and winter, I squirrel away in the cellar tasting but, in the spring—and especially the summer – I spend a lot of time out at our estate vineyard on the West Sonoma Coast. There are many things to monitor in the various vineyard …
The Estate Chardonnay Vertical
Annually, we invite 50-60 sommeliers and wine buyers to our vineyard to feast and make merry as a way of thanking them for their support and to celebrate the good fortune we have of being in the food and wine business. Finding that fortune (gustatorily and financially) has not been easy for most of us in our industry this past …
The Future? As Uncertain As It Ever Was…
Life is uncertain, a timeless maxim and it appears increasingly so, these days. We face cascading catastrophic illnesses, extreme and chaotic weather events, constant warfare abroad and at home, and dire warnings of a bleak future. I’m just waiting for a swarm of flesh-eating locusts to descend. What is a person to do? AP Article_Uncertainty
Musings From My Tractor, Part II
Despite all the turmoil the pandemic created in our personal lives, I’m still out here plugging away at the disinterested vines. Being essential workers, me and my crew kept to ourselves, our “pod,” and availed ourselves of testing (and mask wearing and hand washing), which thankfully became easier to get over time. And then came the vaccine! NP Article_Musings II_Vaccines
Everything is Fine
Reviewing the holiday cards we received this past year, I came upon a few above that captured what 2020 was all about. What a year! In March, we all took a seat on a long, never-ending roller coaster of emotions. And, here we are, back in Spring again, full of hope and promise that we will emerge from the ashes …
Importance of Wine
I have struggled to find something profound, novel, or reassuring to share with you about the state of the world we are living in today. I want to point out a silver lining that will calm the anxiety that is the constant backdrop to many of our lives. But, you don’t need one more person adding to the barrage of …
Team. Work.
I have boys ages 9 and 11 who play a lot of basketball. Recently, they conceded if they don’t make it to the NBA they are willing to consider other career options although, well, it is highly possible they will be drafted. First round, most likely. It is a little early in their lives for a lesson in statistics but …
You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman
I would have to say that one of my greatest, let us say, accomplishments (rather than achievements) is giving birth to two babies without pain medication or what are commonly known as “natural“ childbirths. I’m not sure why that determines that a childbirth is “natural”. No woman in the world thinks the delivery of her baby was other than “natural”. …
I Grow Grass. No, Not That Grass
As you may recall from last winter’s news stories, we received quite a bit of rain last winter. No, it was not a record-setting winter, but above average, around 78 inches through May. We even had a thorough soaking totaling seven inches over four days in the middle of May, quite a bit for so late in the spring. Our …