Help! I have hundreds of readers that I currently send my weekly e-blasts to. I need to get more sophisticated and that means sending an e-newsletter instead. But I also want to keep it short, and most importantly, palatable. The first below (A) is what I sent this past week. The second (B) has some…

Today’s blog title should only bring up one image and it’s staring right at you. The film, My Favorite Year, was narrated by an apprentice, so to speak, of the deranged, alcoholic character played to perfection by Peter O’Toole. I’ve always been uneasy with movies about drunks; a couple of comedies centered around men come…

California Wineries we miss that went bust before the current recession: Ballard Canyon in Santa Ynez (Who remembers the Grape Stomp? That’s another blog post all by itself by “Buffy”, the name I used while wearing a crown of grape leaves and watching other’s whimsical attempts at stomping.) Cilurzo in Temecula (Cilurzo named wines after…

We can’t go out on this upcoming Valentine’s Day… and I expect a downward cast to all of your collective chins as you read this. My husband Eddie, not me thank God, can’t even have a nice wine that evening. He just re-entered “platoon” duty at a fire station in a town near you…I’ll reveal…

Dear Eve, Our concept is based on the idea that sparkling wine and Champagne can be enjoyed without having to feel like a wine expert. We wanted to share our passion for Champagne and sparkling wine with younger people, and introduce them into the world of wine. All three of us who started the business…

I have two very good reasons why I haven’t written in 5 days. First, and this should be obvious, I didn’t want to move my past post down. It wasn’t the eloquence of the post. It was the perfection of the photo I found that the entire post was written about. Lots of comments came…

I don’t see a conflict here: I will have a button on the West Ranch Beacon (WRB) that will take you to all of my wine columns. I don’t take the best photos even though I’m a somewhat lanky, leggy, 5’10” real blond. So in searching the net I find this photo. A wine bar…

This is an idea I’ve been discussing for awhile with friends. First it was because I couldn’t be at two places at one time. Two great events happened on the same night last year. Both with wine. And both benefiting a local charity. But one hit my calendar sooner. Then it happened again. I figured…

My husband Eddie auctioned off a single malt scotch tasting in our home, for 6 guests, this past November. The event is now coming up on January 10. We are printing tasting sheets, maps of the lowlands and highlands of Scotland and deciding if we want to use our many existing wine glasses or purchase…