Wine Blogger vs. Wine Blogger – A Competition!

Here at ALP, we don’t review wines. Partially because we don’t want to, but also, we don’t know how. We like to think we know a good wine when we taste one, but whether that is sun baked leather or fresh truffles lurking under a surface of black cherries and red fruit, we have no clue.

Thankfully, other people do know how to review wine. So we thought, “why don’t we let them tell us what to drink for a change?” So now is your chance. Think you have a wine under $20 that is easy enough to find (thanks for suggesting a wine that was super hard to find Steve!) that will impress our friends and us?  Think you have an elevated palate? Then we invite you to give it a go and test your palate against other fellow bloggers. … Continue Reading

Millennials – Things They Actually Say IV: Elliot Karpman

Being a wine blog, A Long Pour is of course mostly here to serve my ego. In fact, the only reason I didn’t start a blog called: “The Reasons Wayne is So Much Better than You” was that my initial post outlining just the main reasons I am better than you (and I am), was over 13,000 words long! Too much writing for me. So wine it was.

Aside from cementing my own legacy in the history of internet blogdom fame, I have actually had the honor to champion a good thing or two on here, namely small family-run wineries and sustainable practices. While sustainable can mean many things and increasingly it seems most wineries are doing something sustainable (many Napa wineries for instance are continuing to sustain an aura of superiority), real sustainability…the hard-core geeked out scientific kind, is a real passion of mine. Stand in a vineyard or two that are crawling with life and vibrancy and you will be converted.

Elliot Karpman shares my passion, actually, he excels at it.

Elliot and I met in a small beer and wine bar in Solvang over a few glasses last summer. He runs a company called True Terroir, advocating small wineries that are making big impacts in the pursuit of terroir and environmentally friendly practices. He his a devotee to the notion of terroir and believes that real terroir, true terroir, comes from a respect for the land. … Continue Reading

Millennials – Things They Actually Say III: Brandi Stansbury & Matt Six

This is the third installment of our mini-series talking to fellow young wine consumers, see also here and here. Today, we have a West Coast and East Coast perspective.

I met Brandi a few months ago at a winery in Paso Robles and we hit it off right away. In addition to her obvious love of wine, Brandi shares a love of hilariousness that is only processed by a small group of people.  I call these people Hilarians.

Although not exactly a Millennial, she is right in-between Gen-X and Millennials, so I thought it would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who has enjoyed wine for more than a few years.  Brandi also brings hands on experience working on the hospitality side of wine. What isn’t mentioned in her response though, is our mutual plot to take over the internets by means of a series of well timed Tweets, several viral videos, a troop of well trained talking cats, and the aid of Tony Danza, who although offered very few skills or ideas to our world-wide plot, really needed a job. Hang in there Tony, we’ll show them who the real boss is.

Also, Brandi can write real nice, whereinto, this is be a plu$. … Continue Reading

Millennials – Things They Actually Say II: Jennifer Thomson

Today, we continue with our mini-series of conversations with Millennials. With so much chatter surrounding what young wine drinkers do and do not want, it is important to take a moment and actually listen to what they are saying.

Part I is here and the kick off article is here.

I came across Jennifer Thomson by way of Peter Hunken at Black Sheep Finds. Peter produces a wonderful Pinot Noir from the Thomson’s Carneros vineyard and he spoke highly of them. He told me in part… “the people we work with, the Thomsons, they’re super nice and even though they are 350 miles away I probably have more communication with them, because they are owners and growers. So it’s just a really nice fit, a nice feel.”

So when I found their Twitter account (@ThomsonVyrds) I was happy to follow. A few weeks later my friends and I were at Hollywood Forever, a cemetery in L.A. watching Explosions in the Sky while drinking Black Sheep Finds Pinot. After mentioning this on Twitter, I received a wonderfully nice email from Jennifer Thomson aka “The Millennial Daughter of The Farmer” thanking me for the comments.

We stayed in touch over the following weeks which led me to the following conclusions: … Continue Reading

Millennials – Things They Actually Say: Ilkka Sirén & Kara Jones

MILLENNIALS!!!!

So you know what I think and say (too much of both), but what are actual young wine consumers thinking and saying? I thought, ‘hey Wayne, why don’t you go to the source? You know other young people in wine, why don’t you ask them what they are influenced by?” Then I thought, “you know Self, you are right, I will do that, and I will gather what they say and immortalize it for all eternity (or until I stop paying my Godaddy.com bill) on ALP for all to enjoy!

So, in their own words, I present real conversations with real wine consumers. … Continue Reading

An Open Letter to Those Who Write Open Letters to Millennials

(the following is a binary code joke, in case you didn’t know)

Hi Internet. How have you been?

011001 1100111110 00111 1000101.

That’s good, glad to hear about the traffic. You have been so busy; I just don’t know how you keep up with it all! You look great by the way! I wish I had your bandwidth!

001 1010 0111001

No seriously, I do! … Continue Reading

Changes: Linne Calodo & Tablas Creek

Paso Robles, finally! Not since last July had I spent any reasonable amount of time in the Central Coast land of Syrah and Roussanne.

A few Sundays ago, in some of the worse rain Central California saw all season (and it has seen a lot), we braved the wind and water and headed north. The storms were no joke. We passed flooded farmlands and barns, tempest swollen rivers, and a number of micro-mudslides (not a good sign) along the way. But the wine was good, the conversation lively, and with my wife and our Beagle along for the ride, it was a perfect day. As it turns out, the timing as it was perfect too. … Continue Reading

The Winter Vineyard – Jordan Winery

Jordan Vineyard remains one of the most breathtaking places I have ever visited. I was privileged to spend some time at the winery with my new wife two weeks ago. It was spectacular to watch this beautiful piece of land change over the course of a season. Each season has its own character and its own romance.  Vineyards too have special moments throughout the seasons that can inspire and even move us. None more so that the vineyard in Winter. … Continue Reading

“Critic” – A Rework of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”

A rework of Allen Ginsberg’s 2^nd Stanza of “Howl”

Critic
For The Composite Vintner of Honesty

II

What journal of ink and paper bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination?

Critics! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Criticisms and unobtainable dollars! Vintners screaming under the winepress! Boys sobbing in cellars! Old men weeping in the vineyards!

Critics! Critics! Nightmare of Critics! Critics the loveless! Mental Critics! Critics the heavy judger of men! … Continue Reading

The Best of 52 Weeks – And the Winners Are…

So as promised, the best of 52 Weeks with California wine. In most cases, it was hard to select winners. I had so many great experiences over the year that it was hard to say the what is listed below were the best. But you have to pick someone. And the winners are… … Continue Reading