The Sideways novel and film are arguably the most impactful wine entertainment in today's pop culture, and certainly for Santa Barbara County. Talking with Rex Pickett the author of the book, "Sideways" on his view of the impact of the film. 

Q - Could you share a bit about the varietals Pinot Noir and Merlot in relation to the characters in your novel Sideways?

"At the time that I wrote Sideways Pinot Noir was a semi-obscure grape variety coveted by wine geeks who spoke of Burgundy and Sonoma’s Russian River in rhapsodic terms.  I, who knew little about wine ...

This years Wine Bloggers Conference or #wbc12, will be held in Portland Oregon this coming August 15-19th. Those you of joining the #wbc12 have most likely already reviewed the agenda, and for me that would amount to a few dozen times. Throughout this past year I have been privileged to participate in a handful of events that all have ties to this years #wbc12 agenda. In a sense, I feel like I've gotten micro portions of wbc. While each of these tiny pieces have been lots of fun, I expect so much more when in Portland. 

I live near ...

It's that time of year when the grapes are being harvested and wine is being produced. It's also a time of celebration of the harvest, to enjoy the outdoors with good food and wine, while we still have great weather.

On October 8th, the Santa Barbara Vintners Association put on the annual Celebration of Harvest, held at Rancho Sisquoc winery, in Santa Maria Valley. There was no shortage of media covering this wine event, and I saw many familar friendly faces. Chris Czar was out with his crew taking footage for a television show, while local photographer Bob ...