This is an incredible headline www.sfgate.com/tech/article...

"I was always moving the goalposts of what I wanted to achieve ... I had this beautiful winery, this vineyard I started, wines I think are beautiful, but there was a bit of emptiness. You push to get to the top of the mountain and it's a bit hollow." www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/07/fi...

Yikes. AI is better at writing wine marketing emails than human beings making $100K. It's another fulltime job that won't exist soon. www.chicagobooth.edu/review/ai-is...

"Driscoll’s global raspberry business was built on the Maravilla, a berry red enough, sweet enough and shelf-stable enough to be grown and shipped globally. It soon became the industry benchmark ... The drawback is that it doesn’t taste all that good." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/d...

Maxwell's Silver Hammer is a really weird song

I'm so disillusioned, I almost don't even care who gets the FIFA Peace Prize next year

"During the massive shelling of Kyiv on June 2, 4 high-rise buildings were destroyed, 30 people were killed, and the BookChef publishing house’s warehouse—containing 800,000 books—and the Red Cross’s main medical supply warehouse were demolished." www.hudin.com/recent-russi...

These are the wines that convince young adults that they don't like wine.

Never let the cynics and naysayers grind you down. You *can* have it all at once.

We interrupt BlueSky with this SportsBall announcement: Folarin Balogun's suspension was suspended! The best striker in US history will be available tomorrow vs. Belgium. For the 17% of Democrats who still love our country, this is GREAT news! sports.yahoo.com/articles/fol...

I like these wines, but I don't personally think they taste like Burgundy. BUT some top sommeliers in New York sell them that way, and THAT I understand: good quality at 1/5 the retail price. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/07/it...

I write about wine and spirits, so on one level I get it. Facebook thinks my page is not appropriate for teens. On the other hand, my own feed is filled every day with rage-bait nonsense. THAT seems much worse for impressionable minds.

I should be thinking/posting about wine but my brain is 99% occupied by 🇺🇸 v Bosnia ⚽️ today, so please read this wine story from Monday: www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/mo...

Very good Substack interview with a top NY-sommelier-turned-California-winemaker who explains why most good AND cheap US wines come from Lodi fruit. Lots of interesting details here. Worth reading. thefizz.substack.com/p/the-fizz-9...

You like white wines? You like Italian wines? You like affordable wines? You like a wine with a good story? I have some recommendations! www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/mo...

The story is behind a paywall, but this isn't: "As this piece was about to be published, Stuart Bewley announced that 2026 will be the last vintage he farms at Alder Springs." Yikes. Media attention comes too late to save the farm. www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/ald...

This grape was once grown on trees. It produces big bunches of fat juicy berries that don't look like they will make a fine wine -- but it turns out they do. Now the grape is making a big 21st century breakthrough because enologists love working with it. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/mo...

This Ted Hall essay raises a question (that he doesn't address). I would be bored by a 2-hour winery tasting visit for tourists because I already know how wine is made. How many such visits will one consumer make in a lifetime before getting bored? ted241.substack.com/p/napa-valle...

TLDR: Red wine with a burger is great! Don't overthink it.

AI thinks "wine" is better for your health than "alcohol." Could be a big opportunity for the future, if wine can continue to differentiate itself. (It's another wine news story reported first by Wine Searcher.) www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/ai...

Dear @nypost: Gavin Newsom's wine "empire" has never been "hidden." Are you, the @nypost, implying that capitalism is bad and that governors should not participate in it? Have you seen what the president owns? nypost.com/2026/06/24/u...

Between 2024 and 2025, Alsace AOP white wine exports fell from €91.2M to €86.6M (−5.1%). Losses in the top markets — Canada (−11.2%), USA (−4.0%), and China (−12.6%) — were only partially offset by gains in Japan (+8.5%) and South Korea (+20.5%).

A fun whiskey story about an experimental whiskey that shows why wheated whiskeys like Makers Mark and Pappy van Winkle taste the way they do. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/bu...

It's not going to help wine, but the World Cup could be a savior for big distilleries and breweries, CNN posits. www.cnn.com/2026/06/08/f...

Excellent post, well worth reading.

President Trump's threat to slap 100% tariffs on French wines is more real than his usual bluster. France is committing a trade violation by targeting big US tech companies. If Trump wants to double the price of Champagne in the US, this time he can. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/wi...

Love this from Evan Goldstein: “I think people have a Severance experience. A lot of people are wine drinkers, but when they get to the severed floor, which is the ballpark, they forget and default to an IPA or Coca-Cola and forget they are wine drinkers" vinepair.com/articles/win...

RIP Eileen Crane, a pioneer in the California wine industry. She built a great winery and was always gracious. She will be missed. www.winebusiness.com/news/article...

Fun story. I had no idea that yellow school buses are such a thrill for visitors to the US. Read this and click on the videos. It will give you a smile this morning. nypost.com/2026/06/15/o...

Shame about this, it's in my neighborhood and is a fun place. But what the story doesn't mention is that it's a Natural Wine establishment, and that ship seems to have sailed commercially. missionlocal.org/2026/06/shug...

Wineries are finally lowering tasting fees, but wine country is seeing fewer visitors anyway. Good news is that California's ongoing grape glut means wine in medium-priced bottles will be better than ever. Plus, results of a $100 bet between analysts. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/fe...

A good column that reminds us that wine is so much more than alcohol, and it will help us to talk about it that way. www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/fut...

This could be a big deal for wine lovers who want to order wine from stores in other states. Ohio didn't have to ask the US Supreme Court to weigh in, but it did. That makes it much more likely that SCOTUS will take the case. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/oh...

Ohio made a curious decision to appeal a wine-shipping case it lost to the US Supreme Court on the outgoing attorney general's last day in office. Ohio's appeal could be a tremendous boon for consumers nationwide -- it could open up the entire country. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/oh...

USMNT looked like amateurs for the first 2 minutes but then they were the better side in the first half. Still sloppy on the back line, though. The attack looks improved, but they seem very vulnerable to counterattacks. (I love posting about sportsball here. Gets me on all the best blocklists.)

Al Franken > Graham Platner

The average price of Bordeaux in the US has dropped 15 percent just in the past year. And it's even more true for older wines. You can now buy a 10-year-old Bordeaux, mature and ready to drink, for less than a current release. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/06/bo...

Interesting county-by-county chart. Billionaire businessman Steyer won almost all the most left-leaning counties. GOP's Hilton won the most counties, including Napa. Becerra did very well in LA and the not-as-far-left SF Bay Area counties. www.sfgate.com/politics/art...

This site will show you the Mark Rothko painting that is most appropriate for the weather today where you are. This reminds me of the goofy Internet of the 1990s, which I miss. rothko.joonas.wtf

Hurray, the New York Times finally realizes legal immigrants exist! The H-2A visa program isn't perfect, but for all the hand-wringing in this article, farmworkers here illegally are much more vulnerable to exploitation. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/b...

I don't follow non-alcoholic beverages so this news came as a surprise. You'd think Martinelli's would be doing well; it's a no-alcohol sparkling beverage that can be a wine substitute. And unlike no-alcohol wine, it's actually pretty good. www.sfgate.com/centralcoast...

And over at The Unicorn Review, I talked with Bill Lumsden of Ardbeg and Glenmorangie about rule breaking, death threats, and why he doesn't necessarily like all the whisky he makes www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-revi...

Every election day I reminisce about when I worked at a company in Tokyo and wondered why there were sound trucks in the street, and one of my colleagues said, "Blake-san, today Japan has a big election." Except he said "r" instead of "l." Still chuckling years later.

Heard on @kexp: Margo Cilker wishes she had all the wine in the world. I get that. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJAq...

Kudos to @EricAsimov for continuing to find and recommend good wines under $20. In journalism terms, this is great reader service. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/d...

Interesting column posits that online sports betting is reducing wine consumption, because people stay home and watch games rather than getting together in sports bars. I think that must hurt beer and spirits more, but I can see the logic. www.winebusiness.com/news/article...

Very good column by a South African winemaker who thinks "no-alcohol wine" is a result of neo-Prohibitionism. (For me, I will never drink 0% alcohol "wine." It's not wine, it's chemically and mechanically manipulated juice. I prefer water or iced tea.) www.the-buyer.net/opinion/bruc...

For some fans of Napa Valley wine, the moment a winery gets a 100-point score, that's the time to start buying from somebody else. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/05/th...

One thing I learned Iran and the USA share, via "It Was Just An Accident:" Everyone in Iran wants to put a tip on your credit card. Gas station workers, security guards, etc. I hope a long-term peace agreement includes eliminating tip screens on both sides. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Was_...

The New York Post has discovered Napa Valley. nypost.com/2026/05/25/u...