Chateau Mon Dieu Lena!

Date: Wed, Nov 5, 2008 Wine Tasting

To the surprise of everyone, it appears the much anticipated major acquisition of one of the crown jewels of Napa Valley by a foreign company is off. 

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Japanese Sideways filming in Calistoga

Date: Fri, Oct 31, 2008 Wine Tasting

I just drove by the filming of the "Miles drives into the tree" scene for Japanese Sideways, the movie, filming in Calistoga October 31, 2008. They wrap up this weekend. The rain doesn't seem to be bothering them as there are about four guys with rags wiping the Mustang down.

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Solid new producers discovered at the Kick Ranch Tasting

Date: Tue, Oct 28, 2008 Wine Tasting

Last Saturday was the first Wine Blogger Conference held in Santa Rosa. Day One included a lunch at the Kick Ranch Vineyard featuring nearly a dozen wineries creating wine from this increasingly important site on the eastern slopes of Sonoma County. I first became aware of this site from Shane Finley of Shane Wines  who uses it in one of his trio of exemplary small production Syrah, including Jemrose and The Unknown, a blend of several sources.

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The launch of dougwilder - the purely domestic wine blog

Date: Wed, Oct 22, 2008 Wine Tasting

This is really something new for me. My own personal, independent, unmoderated look at the best wines I taste. In a few sentences let me tell you about who I am and what I do.

I'm Doug Wilder, a California (SF Bay Area) native who first walked into a vineyard in Sonoma when I was about 7 years old and chewed some grapes off a vine my mother trimmed for us. It seems I was always attracted by aromas. It didn't really matter what it was... flowers, beehives, gasoline (never inhaled) fruits, vegetables, spices, paint, paste. I was always sticking my nose in things eager to identify what the smell was. I could tell the difference between A&W and Shasta Root Beer. I never knew my nose would come in so handy but it has given me a very pleasurable career in a field I feel blessed to be a part of.

After nearly twenty years of working in the wine industry for other people, with over half that time writing reviews for wines I represented as a retailer, I finally have the opportunity to write independently, removed from any perceived bias (which never really existed). I remain the same exacting judge of quality that gained me significant readership at places like Dean & Deluca and Vinfolio over the last ten years. Without those opportunities I shudder to think what I would be doing now.

dougwilder - the purely domestic wine blog, will take up where my most recent professional writing left off. While at Vinfolio I authored over 200 issues of my recommendations in a twice weekly column called The Wilder Side of California beginning in March 2005 and grudgingly began blogging two years ago at Free Run Juice. Neither is being published any longer. If you are one of the thousands of registrants who used to read me there and you are here now - welcome. 

Trust me - you won't find this content anywhere else unless I write it.

What people have learned to expect from me since 1996 - A continual stream of consistent, reliable, influential and honest reviews on excellent wines, and profiles of winemakers representing the domestic scene will continue here.

Some other things to look for:

• Every review will be for wines that score at least 90 points (wines that fall below that will be mentioned at the bottom of the winery profile without a rating)
  

• Every review will have a link to either the winery or a selected retailer for purchasing
  

• The Top Wine List of the Year will be published in November
  

• Winemaker dinners with the top California winemakers will happen beginning in December or January.
  

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