As years come to a close, I always take inventory of what I did over the past twelve months, and in doing so, remember some of the stand out events, and there are many in 2010. Interestingly, this year started off with one of the most memorable for me and that was January 2010’s Pinot Noir conference in Wellington, New Zealand. I wrote a blog or two about that earlier on the year and you can get a low down on some of my findings (and the preceding Syrah Symposium in Hawkes Bay) by glancing through the blog archives. Continue reading »

Greetings and kia ora from New Zealand! I spoke this past week at a Syrah workshop in Napier (Hawkes Bay) and will be speaking this week at Pinot Noir 2010 in Wellington. But, as the Pinot event has not yet happened, well, not much to talk about that conference less anticipation and excitement for what’s sure to be a killer few days and a tad of anxious trepidation about speaking on a blind Pinot Noir tasting panel later in the week to be flanked on either side by Oz Clarke and Matthew Jukes. Continue reading »