sonoma
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Ego Check, Please
Egos are like balloons, fragile, overinflated and susceptible to little pricks. Some egos are as small as water balloons, others rival the dirigibles seen hovering over wine country and come with as much hot air. My own ego has resembled the Hindenburg at times, not just in size, but in outcome. Though my ego hasn’t…
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Sunset Magazine Forgets Napa, Sonoma Wine Country – Beer to Blame
Most periodicals, whether they’re online or in print, annually produce what’s called an “editorial calendar.” This isn’t for the benefit of those who produce the editorial content of a given newspaper, magazine or blog so much as it’s a reference for prospective advertisers and their marketing notions. Holiday gift guides come to mind as a…
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My Summer Vacation Essay
When I was a wee lad of grammar school age, it was guaranteed that within the first week of the new school year, my classmates and I would be tasked with writing the dreaded My Summer Vacation essay. Apart from the occasional foray to the Happiest Place on Earth or being dispatched to my mother’s…
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Sonoma is Bigger than Jesus
It was 46 years ago today (or August 11, actually) that John Lennon taught the band to blaspheme – at least in a manner of speaking. The outspoken Beatle courted controversy when he opined to a British journalist that The Beatles were “bigger than Jesus.” The quote, divorced from its context, resulted in the Fab…
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Die Hard with a Viognier: J.M. Berry saves the City Party (in my mind)
A woman asked me why I didn’t attend last Tuesday’s City Party. I hesitated before I answered because I knew what I was going to tell her would most likely contort whatever image she had of me beyond recognition, if not redemption. But I owed her the truth. I explained it’s not because I don’t…
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3 ways to (mis)interpret Sonoma’s ban on Plaza chain stores
1. Ties that Bind A single vote tipped Sonoma’s City Council to ban “chain stores” on the historic Sonoma Plaza. This begs the question, “What’s next, whip stores?” Seeing as whips and chains are paired in the popular imagination as frequently as wine and cheese, it stands to reason that the council would soon follow…
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Foie Gras Ban in California: Human Livers Still Legal
If one is to believe the recent news cycle, Sonoma is obsessed with liver health – not our own but those of geese. Thanks to California’s looming state-wide froie gras ban, goose liver and Sonoma (home of the state’s sole producers) have been the plat du jour of national media. At issue is the ethical…
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Cannabis Sauvignon? How to Grow a Hydroponic Vineyard in Your Closet
Typically, in Wine Country we only crush grapes. And dreams. Now, however, thanks to new vineyard rules approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors this week, we may also put the squeeze on the vineyards themselves. At question is soil erosion and the benefit deeply rooting trees provide in this regard. Vineyard owners tend…
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Your Friday the 13th Phobia Explained
It’s Friday the 13th, the second of three such dates on this year’s calendar. The first occurred in January and if you didn’t notice it, let’s assume it was because nothing terrible happened to you on that day. If it did, someone surely would have blamed it on the fateful date. Like the ducks in…