This wine column began 12 years ago this week. What a delicious adventure it continues to be. Indulge me as I answer some questions I get asked all the time.
• Do you ever struggle to come up with a new topic to write about? No, never. The wine world approaches infinite stories. Every year every vineyard is new.
• What is your favorite wine? Which of your children do you love the most? The great joy of wine is variety. You could drink something new every day for the rest of your life and never make a dent in the available wine inventory.
• If you could only drink one wine for the rest of your life, what would it be? This is similar to the question above. My answer: as a fully practicing Catholic, it would have to be consecrated communion wine. Not only is that the highest and best use of wine, but if I were faced with the “only one wine” proposition I would have to assume I had died and gone to hell and, therefore, needed all the divine help I could get.
• What is the best part about writing a wine column and maintaining a wine website and Facebook page? Communicating with fellow wine lovers, giving them some insight into this subject which has fascinated humans for 8,000 years. Maybe giving them a chuckle with my writing and the “Last Round” joke. Three Texas papers run this column every week, and more than 200 Gannett papers across the U.S. can pick it up as feature story when they wish. I have more than 11,000 Facebook followers, including more than 1,500 in South Africa. Amazing. I did not imagine this 12 years ago.
• What is the second-best part about writing a wine column? Free wine. Wineries, or their public relations companies, send me free wine all the time. More than I will ever be able to drink or comment about.
• Are you going to put your columns in a book? I am working on it now.
Tasting notes:
• Charles Woodson Intercept Pinot Noir, Monterrey County 2018: Much more than wine with celebrity name slapped on the label. $19-20 Link to my review
• La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2017: Delicious easy drinker. Excellent example of well-made commodity pinot noir. $22-25 Link to my review
• Champagne Henriot Blanc de Blancs NV: Beautiful pure chardonnay effort. Impressive depth, intensity. $60-69 Link to my review
Last round: How do celebrity wine makers stay so cool? They have so many fans.