Stay calm and drink wine

Increasingly, the British admonishment to stay calm and carry on is made more difficult as the coronavirus spreads around the globe. Not only is this beastly virus taking a toll on human life, but it is also wreaking havoc on commerce.

The wineries that survived Prohibition

The wineries that survived Prohibition

 I have often written about Prohibition in this column. Prohibition, aka the Volstead Act or the Eighteenth Amendment, was enacted on Jan. 16, 1920. For 13 ensuing years, the sale, manufacture and transport of all beverages containing alcohol was strictly forbidden, until Prohibition was rep…

For a romantic bubbly, think pink

For a romantic bubbly, think pink

Last year, Americans spent an estimated $20.7 billion on Valentine gifts. Statisticians who keep track of such things say 17 percent of these gifts (roughly translating to $9.5 billion) were unwanted. And yet Americans are projected to spend more  this upcoming Valentine’s Day (which is Frid…

What are wine drinkers searching for?

What are wine drinkers searching for?

Wine Enthusiast magazine recently published its Top 10 most searched wines for 2019, admitting, “There was something a little voyeuristic about analyzing the browsing histories of strangers.”

OK boomer, can you save the wine industry?

OK boomer, can you save the wine industry?

Every year, Rob McMillan, executive vice president and founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s wine division, publishes the equivalent of the State of  the Union address, called the State of the Wine Industry Report. That the bank should have a wine division is no coincidence.

Comfort wines to ring in a new year

Comfort wines to ring in a new year

Happy New Year, gentle readers. Six days less than we usually have between Thanksgiving and Christmas really did make a difference. Now that most of us can catch our breath after the Christmas marathon, it is time to look toward the future and turn our thoughts to prospering and surviving in 2020.