“Hey! Let’s drive past Phyllis’s house and see if it’s still there!” At the time this inspiration struck a couple of days ago, I was with a couple of friends inching our way down Highway One through Malibu on our way back from the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. We were nearing Sunset Boulevard and only a few miles from Phyllis Diller’s house where I used to work. “Do you think it will still be there?” Nancy asked as she waited for a chance to change lanes. “I don’t know. After it was sold, the new owners said they were going to demolish it. That was just about a year ago. Let’s go see.” This was going to be a brief detour but I didn’t think it would make us late for our dinner reservation. I hated the thought of the house being torn down. Outside of the memories for me… Read More »
Why do I get to write about wine?
I love wine. I’ve taken classes about wine at college and the university and even a couple of evening extension classes. I’ve had jobs pouring wine at Trader Joe’s and the Riviera Hotel here in Las Vegas. For the past ten years I’ve traveled to wine country — mostly California’s Central Coast — and talked to the wine makers, visited the caves and barrel rooms and read lots of books about wine. Oh, yeah, I taste a lot of it too, every chance I get. But really, how does that qualify me to talk about wine? I love to read wine blogs, but some of them are actually annoying. I was a little perplexed that the “Ten Best Wine Blogs” (according to somebody who evidently knows these things) are all written by professionals in the wine industry — wine makers, sommeliers, winery owners and the like. As I read their posts, I felt discouraged… Read More »
More on recycling
… so in the recycling bin, there’s an unusual amount of white wine bottles. Normally it’s crammed with reds. I love the hearty reds like zinfandel, syrah and the GSM blends (that would be the Rhone blends: Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre) but for summer, I want something light and refreshing. Don’t you? Except if you’re having steaks on the barbecue and that calls for a hearty zin or syrah. But I digress … Whites have lots to recommend them. For one thing, as a rule, they are cheaper than reds. (Hurrah!) There are exceptions, of course. One of my favorites is Chemin de Fleurs from Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles. A lovely, refreshing premium wine ($38 or so) with a hint of flowers. And that is for special occasions like my friend Lois’s birthday next week. But for everyday, for just me, I want to keep it reasonable. So, let me tell you what was in… Read More »
