Kimberly
CCA Staff Gratitudes

Kimberly

I'm thankful for:  Friends

CCA Staff Gratitudes
Kimberly
Forged by Fire

In lieu of our normal monthly newsletter, given our home base in Northern California, we at Charles Communications Associates, representing wineries from our own backyard and around the world, dedicate this missive to those affected by the Northern California fires of October 2017

Forged by Fire
Friends
If You Can't Stand The Heat, Get Out of the ...

The Napa Valley has recently taken a lot of heat – both literally, due to the serious temperature spike that hit the valley earlier this month, as well as figuratively from those who think the aberrant fluctuation spelled doom for the entire region’s harvest.  The media has been eager to report this story, which we can all understand – what’s sexier than a potential climate change story about America’s most recognized wine region? Fortunately for the consumer, cooler heads prevail for those of us on the ground, and I wanted to share the perspective from someone who has been around the vineyard block.

If You Can't Stand The Heat, Get Out of the Cellar
Kimberly
10 Medium Intensity Questions With Faith ...

Meet Faith Armstrong, the winemaker behind Onward and Farmstrong wines. As refreshing as the Pétillant Naturel she makes of Malvasia Bianca, many of the words used to describe Faith's wine could be used to describe the winemaker herself. Honest, vibrant, unfiltered, true to her origins, bright, complex. 

10 Medium Intensity Questions With Faith Armstrong of Onward & Farmstrong wines
Hillary
Cooking with Cannabis

With that infamous hippie holiday around the corner, Charles Communications explores how Pot d'Huile has revolutionized the marijuana edibles market for both medicinal benefits and gastronomic delight.

Cooking with Cannabis

Wine Columns for the Week of February 28, 2007

The notion of wine as a way of life is neither new nor especially profound, but many of this week's stories take the theme in interesting directions. Tara Q. Thomas details the grueling ordeal three men undergo in order to be named "America's Best Sommelier." Corie Brown, in a LA Times column newly christened "Oeno-file," writes poignantly about the disjunction between the beautiful dream and arduous reality of being a wine importer.

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Tim Teichgraeber has an article featuring Philippe Melka as a "mountain man" with a suitably big (and quite adorable) picture of him beside the fetching owner of Marston Family Vineyards. And finally, Paul Gregutt is so dazzled by Rob Griffin's devotion to winemaking for 30 years that he finds himself unreservedly recommending Griffin's entire lineup of wines.

Wine Columns for the Week of February 23, 2007

A very mixed case of wine stories this week. The Miami Herald recounts a brutal tale of sibling rivalry in Napa. Eric Asimov lauds "brawny, brooding" Châteauneuf-du-Papes. Ben Giliberti in the Washington Post asks whether biodynamic winemaking is a load of "doo-doo voodoo." Gils Kulers channels Three 6 Mafia. And back in San Francisco, a sly attorney procures "tequila master" status by somewhat duplicitous means...

Wine Columns for the Week of February 14, 2007

Love appeared in unexpected places last week. The expected deluge of Valentine's stories never materialized; instead, there were touching features like Eric Asimov's profile on the extraordinarily wine-besotted Park B. Smith. And despite an absolutely terrible pun ("Smart picks for a Gru-V Valentine's toast"), Paul Gregutt's heartfelt ode to grüner veltliner was actually quite a good read. Elsewhere, a Wall St Journal article make a convincing (if distinctly unromantic) case for the burgeoning popularity of rosé champagne as a study in successful wine marketing...

Wine Columns for the Week of February 7, 2007

What do you do when a doting but sadly unseemly stranger tries to get your attention by catching your eye? With Valentine's Day looming large -- and the frightful prospect of more stories pairing wine and love this Wednesday -- the only course of action is to avert your gaze. To be honest, it's difficult. There's something awfully compelling about the prose, most of which goes way beyond sappy, sounding florid enough to have been torn breathlessly from a supermarket romance novel:

To fan the flames of romance, nothing outdoes a great bottle of wine. While there are many possibilities, some wines seem to get the Valentine's Day message across with extra ardor. To that worthy end, consider the following amorous potions.

No, thanks.

Have a look instead at the quirkier stories that managed to scurry their way onto the pages. My favorite was penned by the inimitable Harold McGee in Wednesday's NYT. Who else would be audacious enough to invoke the stinkiness of his "grade-school pal’s mouse cage" in the same story as he talks about pyridines and 2-acetylpyrroline? And who but McGee would have the childlike curiousness to microwave amino acid supplements just so he could smell "mousy off-flavors" -- and then suggest you try it too?

Wine Columns for the Week of January 31, 2007

Certain issues of great public interest, say, hurricanes, internecine conflicts or celebrity bedroom secrets, can inspire jaded pen pushers to literary heights. But the Super Bowl, an event of such hopelessly irredeemable banality, seems doomed to bring out their worst -- especially as the journalists in question are a coterie of boozed-up and pun-happy wine writers. (Just take a look at what kitschy Christmas did to them...) It's all the more pleasant a surprise, then, that the best wine writing this week may well be found in just these football-themed stories. For one, Laurie Winer's tale of saving her family from Cheesy Bites and Crunch Wrap Supremes is the most entertaining and ardent LA Times food/wine feature for many a week. Over in the SF Chronicle, Christina Kelly patiently outlines wine pairing suggestions for nachos and buffalo wings. And if you've ever lost sleep over the age-old question of which bottle to crack open when someone's just "fumbled away a first down in the red zone," Paul Gregutt is your man.

Wine Columns for the Week of January 24, 2007

Vegan baked goods aside, it's hard to think of anything more abhorrent in the world of food and wine than a used spit bucket. In this week's Chronicle wine section, drinking from a spit bucket makes not one, but two, nauseating cameos. First comes a report of a San Anselmo wine club's tasting game where the loser's unspeakable punishment is to, yes, drink from the bucket. Then there's an interview with Sideways author Rex Pickett where he reveals the truth behind the movie's infamous bucket scene. I can do little else but quote his words verbatim:

It was a special tasting upstairs. It was high-end Cab. They weren't really spitting, they were dumping. Maybe a few had spit. You've got to understand, I was broke back then. I thought, "Wait a minute, there's a lot of good Cab in there." I picked it up and drank from it... I admit, I was a little drunk at this point. I think I said something like, "This is a great Meritage."

Have a great weekend...