Wine Whisperer Re-run

On March 31st Charter Cable 2 is rerunning the TEACh Foundation Telethon. If you missed the Wine Whiperer's TV debut here's another chance to see this enigmatic character in action.
You can also see a trio version of my band, The Cliffnotes. The performance was a little rough around the edges due to lack of time for rehearsals these days ... Grapevine Radio has expanded so rapidly it is consuming most of the time I used to have for music!

Wine Whisperer Makes TV Debut

The Wine Whisperer appeared on the seventh annual TEACh Telethon, Saturday night, March 3rd, between 8:15 and 9:15 pm. He was helping out the irrepressible Vaughn Taus, well known local wine merchant/expert, auction wines to raise funds for The Endowment for the Advancement of Children.

Resplendent in his purple cape, mask and matching fedora, the Wine Whisperer dazzled and amused the in studio crowd and got the phones ringing.

His appearance was followed by yours truly leading a trio version of the Cliffnotes to provide some musical entertainment.

Show is due for rebroadcast March 31st, 2007 on Comcast Cable channel 2.

Gettin' Screwy at Cal Poly

In this adventure, Kathy and I were on a panel for marketing and packaging trends in the wine industry. It was hosted by the Cal Poly's (California Polytechnic University) Wine Department and organized by July Ackerman.
If you thought the debate about screw caps vs. cork was simply a matter of effective sealing of the bottle and the romance and ceremony of corkage, you don't even know a 10th of the story.

Niels Udsen, of Castoro Cellars Winery, is an expert in the subject (he launched the state's first mobile bottling line that could handle screw caps. Neils was on our panel and gave a detailed dissertation on the technical aspects involved and their impacts on quality and durability. Another panel member, Alan Kinne, wine maker for York Mountain Winery and Martin-Weyrich Winery, filled us in on the adjustments necessary in the wine making process itself when preparing for "getting screwed."

I was amazed and impressed to learn how much goes into the decision of whether to "screw or not to screw."

A few years ago, on the radio show, I made a joke of inventing a screw cap remover that looked just like a traditional corkscrew to ease the transition. Of course, six months later, there was one on the market.