The world of wine can be a snobby landscape. For the sake of full discloser, I think I’m a bit of a snob, but I’m working on it. From the vineyards, to the wineries, and into the tasting rooms, we find snobbery at every turn. Even wine advertising depicts beautiful people drinking wine in exotic […]
First published in the Columbia River Reader Most wineries these days have wine clubs and they can be fun and beneficial if you know how they work. If you are thinking about joining a wine club maybe these tips will help you get the most out of your membership. Make sure you join for the […]
First Published in The Columbia River Reader June 2017. Read Marc’s latest article in the current issue of CRR free at locations around the greater Longview area. There are three things you definitely need to do this summer to enhance your enjoyment of wine. Stock up on what I call summer fun wine, go to […]
First published in the Columbia River Reader March 2017. I’m looking forward to 2017, but I will never forget the 2016 harvest. This was the year we crushed 20 tons of grapes in a very short window of time, breaking our earlier record of 8 tons. Harvest started out normally, meaning the new normal, […]
Much is written these days about lifestyle. When I was younger, the show everyone loved was called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Until that show, I don’t remember much talk around our house about lifestyle. We just lived our lives, not giving much thought to it. Television was our only window into […]
I’m not saying that everyone should care about wine. But if you do care, even a little bit, I can guarantee that your enjoyment of wine will increase if you are open to learning more about it.
If I have learned one thing in the wine business, it is that the best wine pairing is the company it keeps. Much is written about wine and food, wine ratings, wine tasting, and wine accessories, but little on the relationships of wine. Most of us don’t really think about why we enjoy wine. […]
Several months ago we hosted the Donnelly family at the winery and were so blessed to meet many of the family members, including loving grandchildren who were so sweet to the elder Dr. Donnelly. Many of you remember this beloved physician in Longview. In the entourage, was Doug Donnely, who was a classmate of my […]
I woke up late at night, not able to sleep, heart pounding in anticipation of t he upcoming grape harvest. It may seem strange to most of our readers that someone so far from the vineyards of Eastern Washington would have such things on their mind. But believe it or not, most of the […]
I first met Joel McNelly, co-founder of Capstone Cellars, at Esther Shore Park in Vancouver, Washington. He was pouring wine at a wine festival. Joel was very animated and excited to share his knowledge with me. As our conversation ended, he offered to sell me a small wine barrel and advised me to not […]