SnowBoard

January 27, 2011

While Healdsburg is experiencing winter rainfall of ~115% norm our east coast tribe member, Tom Clare has been dealing with slightly more dramatic precipitation… snowfall to the tune of ~200+% normal!  Estimated at 36” from 12/27 thru 1/25 and then another 19” yesterday, WOW.  A typical season total is about 22”  Tom has now renamed [...]

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Back to the Futures…

January 27, 2011

Every year, as Barrel Weekend approaches (mark your calendar for March 4-5 & 11-12), I get asked  about offering wine ‘futures’.  In case you are not familiar with the term, here how this normally works:  A winery identifies a lot of wine that tastes really good out of the barrel.  This wine is showcased during [...]

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Lucky 13

January 13, 2011

So, we completed harvest number 13 for Longboard and will soon be able to show you that we did just fine, even in a challenging harvest.  Although some of the reds are still undergoing malolactic fermentation, we tasted some of them last night with some hot and spicy Thai food.  Judging by the “when can [...]

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Harvest Roundup

November 12, 2010

Haloween is long gone, the news anchor on tv is already talking about turkey shortages in the food bank, and we have not yet finished pressing wine.  Quite a year we are trying to wrap up, quite a year.  To those who are spreading rumors about “the worst harvest in     California, ever” I say: Not [...]

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“O” Ganic Wine

September 29, 2010

Might as well step into this sticky subject, it’s harvest time and the steering wheel on my trusty 2002 Audi Allroad feels like my son’s baseball bat, pine tar and all, from leftover grape juice on my hands.  Every so often, and with increasing frequency, I am asked if Longboard wines are “Organic” or whether [...]

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2010 Harvest Update

September 13, 2010

Walking among the vines this morning my only thought was: “Maybe I need to wear a helmet.. I am sure it going to rain frogs pretty soon”.  Let me explain.  This season started with great stats, at last we had ample rain in winter and even though budbreak was late, it looked (early on) like [...]

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“Must” says the ’07 Point Break is Wine Label of the Month!

September 7, 2010

This is a really fun wine site with intriguing images and interesting articles–September’s issue is about the wine and food scene in Temecula. Oh yes, and a very nice article about us. Thanks Must!

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Reviews Squared – Part Two

August 17, 2010

In part one; I dealt with my view about the usefulness of wine tasting reviews.  Mostly, I tried to illustrate how subjective wine tasting is, and that in essence, the only thing that matters should be your personal preference. I have just passed the quarter-century mark as far as experience in the wine industry.  I [...]

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Longboard featured as Winery of the Month!

August 14, 2010

   An authentic 1930’s style French Bistro in the heart of Sonoma County? That vision is precisely what drove Nino Rabbaa to open Rendez Vous Bistro in downtown Santa Rosa. Old Courthouse Square already offers the kind of relaxed atmosphere in an urban setting that is ideal for this type of venue, thus the best [...]

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Reviews Squared – Part One

August 9, 2010

Last week, an email I forwarded to wine writer Steve Heimoff ended up on his blog and resulted in a heated online debate (84 comments was the last count) about ethics and the value of wine reviews in the digital age. It makes a great reading, and if you have the time, I suggest you [...]

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