Archive for November, 2007

Wine 2.0 recap

Friday, November 30th, 2007

It’s late, but I’m all revved up after a night of tasting fine wines - if not also young wines. So I’m vinoblogging after an hour on the train home. But I’ll keep it somewhat pared down, if I can. I gotta sleep! To wit:
Faces
El Jefe y Fermento of Twisted Oak Winery; Alyssa Rapp (co-host), […]

Face the wine, book a night out, do vinogeekspeak

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

Having a few friends on Facebook is a cooler thing than I expected it would be. For instance, while I originally joined Facebook some weeks back to ostensibly stay in touch with my burgeoning band of wine and hiking friends - bloggers and nonbloggers alike - I sometimes find myself invited to actually see them […]

Wine & hiking tours make great stocking stuffers! Honest!

Monday, November 26th, 2007

Are you searching for the right gift for the wine lover or adventurer in your life but dread the thought of one more trip to the shopping mall?
Are you ready for a no-hassle gift-giving solution that doesn’t involve long lines, traffic, gift wrap, or merchandise returns? One that helps to prevent your carbon footprint from […]

Ode to bounty (and a post-holiday exercise regimen)

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

 
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

~winehiker

It’s not always what I’m thankful for - it’s who.

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
- Cicero, Ancient Roman Statesman and Philosopher
I just determined that my annual salary qualifies me as being in the top 0.77% of people worldwide in terms of how rich I am. In the context of living in the Silicon Valley - […]

That’s one happy redneck

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

A couple of Mondays ago I awarded prizes to the authors of the best reviews of my tour and travel website, californiawinehikes.com, which this blog supports. My grand prize winner, Brian Olson, yesterday received the case of wine I shipped to him, and he appears to be pretty excited. Why? Because he has published a […]

A combo of conservancy links

Monday, November 19th, 2007

Riverside Land Conservancy
Over the past few years, the Riverside Land Conservancy has leveraged $34 worth of land for every dollar spent, resulting in the acquisition of over 8,000 acres of land for preservation in Southern California.
(tags: land nature conservation acquisition preservation)

The Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy
The Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy is the steward for a wilderness […]

Thinking globally, giving locally

Monday, November 19th, 2007

I’ve known Kristina Irvin since the early ’90s, and boy is she a firecracker. She’s got more energy packed into her five-foot frame than anybody I have ever met, and she’s managed to accomplish quite a lot with that energy, including running two businesses and placing consistently high in many ultramarathons (100-mile mountain-trail footraces) over the years. […]

Beaujolais Nouveau: yesterday’s hip, today’s hype?

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

This year’s Beaujolais Nouveaux have arrived overnight in America and are on store shelves today.
I haven’t tried any yet. You see, I think there are so many better wines to spend my hard-earned money on. When the third Thursday in November comes around, the question that I find myself asking is:
Why should I buy a Beaujolais […]

A Bordello Barolo, Chapter Three

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

Continued from October 6th: A milestone birthday bash in the making, complete with pictures!
Saturday morning broke like your favorite wine glass in too-soapy hands. I crawled out of bed anyway and was breakfasting within the hour in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood with a foursome of friends. Andy and Cheryl, forks and knives blazing, were happily stoking for […]