Harvest Time!

Cheers Everyone!!!
　
Well Fall is just around the corner and with September’s arrival, I celebrate one of my favorite months and seasons of the year! While cooler weather is not to far off and football season has begun, these are not the reason for my annual September excitement. No, it because it’s harvest season in California wine country! Vines are full of beautiful ripe grape clusters, wineries are busy bringing in and processing them, and you can almost "feel" the excitement and anticipation for a new vintage!
　
Drive through California wine country during harvest season and you will likely see giant lights set up in the vineyards at all hours of the night as crews carefully pick grapes during the cooler, less stressful evening hours. Also you will notice grape hauling trucks zooming through town to deliver their cargos to expecting wineries, and winery staff very busy sorting, pressing and processing grapes into this years new and delicious vintage.
　
I am often asked "when is the best time to visit wine country"? Well the answer to that is simple. Anytime you can get there!! However, when I first began to visit wine countries over twenty-two years ago, I always wanted to arrive right as harvest season was beginning. To witness and feel a part of the energy, grape harvesting and crushing and all the other related activities, tasks and events revolving around harvest season was very exciting and inspiring to me!
I love (and never get tired of it) seeing how wine is created and produced!
　
However if you do plan a trip to wine country during harvest season, realize that winemakers and winery staffs are at their busiest and most stressful time of the year. So while visitors enjoy private tours, visits with the wine making team and extensive barrel tastings, these special activities may be difficult to organize and schedule during this very busy time.
　
Each year harvest season excites and motivates me! Witnessing Mother Natures beautiful bounty, coupled with the talents and skills of outstanding grape growers and winemakers is always an honor and something I will always marvel at and truly enjoy.
　
Like New Years Day, for me harvest season represents new beginnings, new challenges and new opportunities. It is a time of creative expression, tradition and teamwork.
　
Today the 2013 harvest season has begun and is in full swing in California! Like the 2012 vintage, initial reports are great and 2013 looks to be another exciting and delicious vintage!!
　
So this Fall while your enjoying a wonderful glass of wine on your patio or tailgating before your favorite football team takes the field, take a moment to remember and raise a glass to harvest season and all those grape growers and winery staff who take the risks and work so hard to create our wines, from grapes to glass!!
　
Cheers!!

"A Passion For Wine"

Recently in California during a very busy week while bottling two wines, walking numerous vineyards each day and enjoying so many great wines in the beautiful Russian River Valley and  Napa Valley, I had the chance to take a moment to "take stock" and really consider just what wine itself really represents and truly means to me! Not the competitive and dynamic business side of wine or the analytical dissection of a wines taste, color, aroma and structure. No I mean the true essence, passion and love of wine and all that it helps to enhance and create.

Wine has been a part of our lives and intertwined in our agriculture, food and civilization for thousands of years. One archaeological account even suggests evidence shows that the possible earliest known wine production occurred in what is now known as the country of Georgia around 7000BC!
The ancient Roman novelist Petronius once wrote "Wine is Life" where in our more modern era,
American wine pioneer Robert Mondavi once said "Wine is Art"!

Well for me, wine is all these things and much more. For me, wine is all about people! From the family and friends you share and enjoy it with, to the new acquaintances and relationships it helps foster and introduce you to at so many wonderful wine dinners, tastings, festivals and gatherings. For me, wine is the perfect chaperon to any social function.

However, wine is also a lifestyle for me. One that celebrates creativity, enthusiastic living, travel, food, people, constant learning and the pure enjoyment of living! In my life at least, wine has been and is such a wonderful part of so many great experiences, friendships and memories.

While I have been very fortunate to taste and enjoy so many historic wines and wines from some of the world's classic vintages and greatest producers, I must admit I still feel excitement and anticipation tasting a wine for the first time, regardless of price point or origin! It's a new discovery, experience and opportunity. Whats not to get excited about?!

Course over the years wine has been a catalyst and common ingredient in my own personal lifestyle that celebrates and so enjoys my exposure and interaction with friends, associates and extraordinary people from all around the world. These moments of conversation, fellowship and friendship have and continue to "feed my soul" and stimulate my spirit. I simply can't think of many more enjoyable evenings than to relax and share a fantastic bottle of wine with a loved one, friend or enthusiastic group of new friends!

While we all often focus and put so much energy and thought into wine scores and technicalities of wine, for me it will always be about the feelings and joy wine instills in me, as well as the inspiration and motivation I gain each day from all the dedicated wine artisans who grow grapes, make wine and market and deliver wine to all of us! I raise my glass to you all!!

However in addition to the simple enjoyment of and passion for wine, in the past decade especially, wine has become a vehicle and platform for charitable and non-profit donations, fund-raising and benefiting of so many wonderful and worthy organizations and missions. I have been fortunate and blessed to participate and be involved first hand in the charitable side and influence of wine. I have been constantly amazed and gratified at the incredible generosity from wine producers and professionals AND all the equally generous wine enthusiasts, collectors, event sponsors and wine event patrons that give so much and help raise millions of dollars annually for non profit organizations around the world. Their passion, excitement and love of wine, community and life are truly inspiring to me!

So next time you open a wonderful bottle of wine, in addition to the normal evaluation, investigation and exploration of the wine, simply take a moment to sit back, sip and ENJOY!

As Oliver Wendell Holmes once said:
"When wine enlivens the heart, may friendship surround the table".

Cheers Everyone!!

The "Big Dog" Meets Captain Keith!!!

Cheers Everyone!!

In this weeks "Big Dog's Blog" I wanted to write about a very special personal "fish tale" I was excited to experience last week!

Last Friday while on his national promotional tour, I had the fun opportunity to meet and talk to one of the stars of televisions hit show Deadliest Catch, Captain Keith Colburn of the crab fishing boat Wizard!

While I've been a fan of Deadliest Catch for years, as many of you know, my passion and love of the coast and for great seafood has been a consistent part of my entire life.

So of course I was thrilled to not only get the chance to meet Captain Keith and talk about Deadliest Catch and crab fishing, but also we touched on cooking, seafood and wine! Yes, I'm told Captain Keith is a big wine guy! So, we had a few minutes to talk about Black Dog Cellars, seafood and wine pairings and crab cooking!

However, after meeting Captain Keith and having a wonderful conversation, I was thrilled to leave with a few pounds of incredible Colossal Alaskan King Crab that was actually caught by Captain Keith and the Wizard crew! Captain Keith and the Wizard are famous on Deadliest Catch for consistently "stuffing the boat" with their legal limit of crab each season.

So with Captain Keith's crap preparations and cooking advise in hand, along with my awesome
Alaskan King Crab, I went to planning and prepping up for my evenings crab and wine feast.

However, I simply can't cook without a glass of wine so to start the evening off right, I opened up a bottle of my Black Dog Cellars 2010 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay to enjoy while dinner preparations where on the way!

Now as for dinner, first in my seafood boil pot I heavily seasoned the water with Old Bay Seasoning and began to bring it to a boil.  Now while waiting for the water to come to a boil, I put fresh corn on the cob
(in husks) on the grill over medium high heat. Course, before placing my corn on the grill I peeled the husks back, removed the silks, placed the husks back over the corn and soaked them in a bowl of water for about 20 minutes. Soaking them not only helps prevent the husks from catching on fire, but also helps steam the corn while cooking on the grill. Once on the grill, I cook the corn for 20 minutes, rotating each ear a quarter turn every 5 minutes. Once off the grill, I peeled the husks back, spread a little garlic infused butter on the steaming corn then sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese and cilantro over it! Ohhh... need I say more!!??

With my water heating up and the corn on the grill, I began creating my salad to accompany my menu.
So I simply mixed up some arugula and spring mix greens with a little crumbed Gorgonzola cheese, chopped walnuts AND to top it off, half of a grilled pear. As for the pear, its so simple to do and grilling fruit assists in softening the fruit and bringing out and caramelizing the natural sugars in the fruit, It's so tasty!!
Just drizzle a little oil on the pear and place it directly on the grill over medium heat. Don't go away from the grill, it won't take long! Just grill to you see those lovely grill marks on the pear and it's nice, soft and juicy.

The snap and freshness of the greens along with the creaminess of the cheese and the sweetness of the pear and the crunch of the walnuts makes this a fantastic Summer salad that pairs with so many dishes... including fresh Alaskan King Crab!

So with salad and corn complete and my water now boiling, as per Captain Keith's instructions, I dropped the crab into the boiling pot for 3 minutes. That's it! Three minutes later, they were perfect. Out they came from their boiling bath, perfectly cooked and onto my plate. Accompanying my corn and salad was a bowl of melted butter for crab dipping! YUM!

To pair with my crab feast, I selected and opened a wonderful Araujo Sauvignon Blanc. Araujo has always made one of my very favorite Sauv Blancs! It possesses depth, tropical fruits and beautiful aromas.

Well needless to say the crab was outstanding, simply some of the best I have EVER had, and the entire dinner was a wonderful wine and culinary experience right here in my own home! Great ingredients make for great dinners!

It was a great experience to meet Captain Keith and I have to say a big thank you to Captain Keith and the crew of the Wizard for such fantastic crab and for visiting Nashville!

Also, I want to take this opportunity to say thanks to all of you who have been so nice to send emails and comments about my new blog. I really enjoy writing it and look forward to many more posts coming soon! Thanks again everyone and Cheers!!

"The Big Dog"

Okay... after a few busy weeks I'm back on blogging!! Hope you enjoy my new post!!!

Charity Silent Auctions: A Few Observations, Ideas and Opinions!!

This past weekend (March 21 - 24) I had the great pleasure and time to once again pour my
Black Dog Cellars wines at the High Museum Wine Auction and Events in Atlanta Georgia.
What a great time!!

As the event progressed and during the silent auction portion of the afternoons festivities I couldn't help myself but remember back to my wine auction administration days when I was Executive Director of Nashville's Wine Auction, l'Ete du Vin.

As I watched and participated in the silent auction, I once again, with some amusement and chagrin, observed the familiar practices and "techniques" of a select few participants that I have come to observe and I'm afraid to say expect now at most charity silent auctions. These very few individuals main objective seems to win at all costs the lots they are bidding on at whatever cost or possibly lost potential revenue to to the charity or cause. Course I am happy to say that most people attending these great fund-raising events are very generous and outstanding people! However as it's said... "There's one in every crowd".

So I thought it would be fun in this "Big Dogs Blog" post to put together a few thoughts about silent auctions and put a "label" to those personalities that we all have occasionally interacted with at silent auctions.

So here goes...

I have identified five separate type of silent auction "characters". They are:

1. The Blocker Talker
2.The Double Team
3. The Slow Hand
4. The Pennapper
5. The Buzzer Beater

The Blocker Talker
Okay, the Blocker Talker is the person near the last few minutes of a silent auction, likes to record a bid, then conveniently hover directly in front of the bid sheet, engage in what seems to be an important conversation and block access to the bid sheet and future potential rival bidders. I am afraid I have seen this particular technique be successful a number of times. SOLUTION: Of course the effective solution to this practice is to simply courteously ask the blocker to excuse themselves. After they have pretended not to hear you the first time, simply restate your request and access to the bid sheet will be cleared.

The Double Team
The Double Team is essentially two Blocker Talkers who team up to purchase a lot they want to share.
SOLUTION: The solution is essentially the same as above. I usually gently step a little between the two Blockers and state my request for access to the bid sheet with something like "Hey it's all for a great cause"!! However sometimes my sense of humor never seems to be "appreciated"  by them!

The Slow Hand
The Slow Hand is the person who picks up the pen with one or two minutes to go before the lot is closed and ssslllooowwwlllyyy writes their name and bid on the sheet in order to simple run out the clock. I've even seen people trace over their name from their previously leading bid just so someone wont outbid them at the end. SOLUTION: Only thing to do here is to stand close, lean over with pen in hand and encourage them to write a little faster. Then proceed to set a great example and write your bid as fast as possible in order to give them a final opportunity as well.

The Pennapper
It's just what you think. Someone who waits till the closing seconds of the silent auction, places a bid then keeps the pen so other will have to waste precious seconds looking for a pen to place a new bid. Trust me I have seen this work! SOLUTION: Simply bring your own pen to the event.

The Buzzer Beater

This is the person who will record a bid even after the bell has sounded closing the bidding but volunteers have not arrived yet to retrieve the bid sheet. SOLUTION: You can certainly consult with the event officials but unless they or a volunteer witnessed this, there is not much to be done. I'm happy to say this technique is not widely used but occasionally it does make an appearance.

I've always enjoyed a great silent auction and for non profit organizations, it's a fun and effective means to raise much needed revenues. As I said earlier, 99% of those who participate in silent auctions are fun, generous and outstanding people there to assist a great cause and have a fun evening.
It is my hope that the remaining one percent who unfortunately sometimes forget the mission and purpose of the auction is to raise much needed revenues for the charity will take a breath, make a timely high bid and then... step aside and encourage others to come on up and bid!!

So enjoy those auction events, have fun, bid high and bid often!
Hey... it's all for a great cause!!

Thanks everyone!!

"The Big Dog"

"The Big Dog's Blog"

Cheers Everyone!!

Welcome to the first installment of "The Big Dog's Blog"!!  I'm very excited and enthusiastic to be "kicking off" 2013 by launching my new wine, food, travel and events blog. I've always wanted to start a blog and over the years of my being involved and working in the wine industry, I have had so many people suggest and comment to me that I should start a blog about wine, food, travel and all the related events, issues and fun and festive experiences they foster and help create. Well... here goes!!!

While we will feature and discuss specific wines, wineries, restaurants, recipes, travels and events, we will also address "the current events, news  and issues" of the day revolving around the wine and food industry as well as providing a forum for you the participants to express your thoughts, opinions, suggestions and insights on issues we discuss as well.

"The Big Dog's Blog" will be a positive and energetic gathering place for wine and food enthusiasts, industry professionals, as well as those who are simply looking to learn a little more about wine, great food, and fun activities, events and locales that they may find of interest!

I plan on posting new blog posts at least once or twice a week. As always, PLEASE feel free to join in and give your thoughts and opinions as well! I would love to read your posts and hear what everyone thinks!

I sincerely hope you find "The Big Dog's Blog" to be fun, informative, educational and entertaining!
I know I will have fun with my posts and I hope you do as well!!

So here we go!! Cheers!!

Mike