update: after hearing that the qr code didn’t scan properly on all phones, I made a black and white version that should be easier to scan!  second update: most people are reporting that it works with certain QR code readers (presumably those with better error correction) I made a QR code out of wine corks. [...]

If you’re a normal person who is just looking for a fun wine blog to read, run away from this crazy dirt-drinking wino.  Or maybe think about pretending to be a wine expert. Yesterday, I posted my thoughts about a confounding Vitisphere editorial that argues about the downside of digital communications.  What ensues is the obligatory publication [...]

This is a post in response to an editorial in Vitisphere.  The author has since responded here. I was a little shocked when reading the editorial on the most recent Vitisphere which concludes with the following: “Enfin, il faudra accepter une certification des acteurs de la critique, de la notation, par une Autorité, sinon les [...]

This post is part of my guide to ViniSud 2012.  It is specifically about my vineyard’s activities at Vinisud. If you’re looking for a list of all the winemakers at Vinisud, consult the official list on the vinisud website. If you’re in Montpellier on February 20-22, there are many ways to interact with O’Vineyards while [...]

Every day in January gets a new Trah Lah Lah song… which it turns out is a lot of songs.  THIRTY-ONE of them.  Today’s song brings us to the realm of kid music.  A french version of the Big Bad Wolf who brings down some Tra la la on the three little pigs.  

This article compares research findings about wine tourism in Champagne and the Languedoc.  If you’re looking for a vineyard to visit in Champagne, I suggest Tarlant who organized my entire trip there.  If you’re looking for a vineyard to visit in the Languedoc, I suggest mine because I want to meet you. While I visited [...]

When I was little, I had a huge crush on Shirley Temple so she’s going to help you sing Tra la la today. I’m crushed that I can’t embed this video. But just follow this link to the closing musical number in the 1940 movie Young People. Sing a little tra la la with Shirley [...]

I’m spending a bit of time touring Champagne this weekend. But that doesn’t mean we can’t sing Tra la la like every other day in January. Here’s a song from Die Fieldermaus perfomed by the Royal Opera Sometimes referred to as the Champagne Song, this piece is about that king of drinks that made people [...]

Today, we’re drinking trah lah lah with soul. Yesterday’s tra la la song was very funky and you can’t just switch gears from funk to something totally different.  So dialing it back a little with the less (but still quite) funky Tra la la la by Ike and Tina Turner.

Sometimes, it seems like all winemakers have the exact same pitch when talking about their winemaking.  I get to read a lot of winemaker biographies and property descriptions, and they just say the same things over and over and it starts sounding a like its own language: wine bollocks.  Even my own winemaker statement on [...]