Its expansive panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean extend all the way down to Monterey Bay. Facing south, breathtaking landscapes of the Santa Cruz Mountains are shaded periwinkle blue in the distance. Natural springs, numerous creeks, and wetland habitat are distinct features as well as its bigleaf maples, bay laurels and lush grasslands. Across its 1,047 acres […]

In this Spring season, more than in seasons past, I’ve been seeing an incredible lot of wild cucumber flowering along my favorite Bay Area trails. The wild cucumber, Latin name Marah macrocarpus, is a member of the Cucurbitaceae, or gourd family. It is quite a pretty vine when it flowers, and does bear resemblance to most garden-variety cucumber plants. […]

Earlier this week on Two Heel Drive, a local hiking blog I often read, author Tom Mangan polled his readers, asking the question What wildlife have you seen on the trail? Apparently Tom had to take down that poll due to technical difficulties, but it essentially listed a number of animals one might commonly see in […]

Agent Red sent me a communique this afternoon. Though tersely worded, it was a topic of great importance. I knew I had to immediately share the news with you!
BEGIN COMMUNIQUE

I infiltrated Fantesca’s secret stash and nabbed a limited supply of their 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
You can’t buy this wine on the Fantesca.com website
This wine will go on sale […]

Last Thursday night at the Wine 2.0 Spring Fling at Crushpad in San Francisco (photoessay here), I chanced to meet Linzi Gay, Marketing Director of Clif Bar Family Winery. I was glad to meet her and get an advance taste of the Clif Bar wines she was about to pour. After all, I had just […]

My hiking season is in full swing, and I’m now trekking 20 miles or so of trail each week. But it recently became apparent to me that if I am going to keep up this pace, I had better get a new pair of boots. A pair just like my old pair of Vasques, not […]

Wine 2.0 is, apparently, the confluence of wine and technology that results in purple teeth. Without a whole lot of fanfare, I hereby offer photos from last night’s Wine 2.0 Spring Fling at Crushpad in San Francisco. Many thanks to Cornelius Geary and Jeff Playter of Rad-Cru for hosting what many folks felt was a […]

I’ve been recruited as a spy!
At the risk of blowing my cover, I want to alert you to a one-day-only 20% deal I\’ve uncovered on an Oakville-appellation Cabernet Sauvignon. It\’s your mission, should you decide to drink it. But do it on April 25, 2008!
(tags: wine cabernet deal spy spies oakville)

Wine 2.0: The confluence of […]

Oops - should I have said that? Whoa, I’ve just blown my cover!!!
Uh-oh. Now I’ve gone and done it! Suddenly, it’s cloak and dagger time! Sheesh, I’m going to have to spend the remainder of my days constantly looking over my shoulder for Impy the Midget!!
But seriously: there’s an organization called The Wine Spies, and […]

I am involved in a social community local to the San Francisco Bay Area called Bay Area Linkup. I’ve been hosting hiking events with this group for nearly five years and wine-tasting events for the past three, and I’ll continue to do so simply because I’m having the time of my life.
While my hiking events […]