W. Blake Gray

I just read a feature in Wine Spectator touting an unknown winery that makes wines from an unpopular grape from an unknown region. As a fan of that grape, I'm intrigued.

At the end of the article: "Tastings by appointment, $75 to $95"

Is it any wonder wine sales are struggling?

Europe Produces More Wine Than in 2024 | Meininger's International The EU's top three producers show mixed results for the 2025 harvest. Italy remains the largest producer, while Spain's volume dropped significantly. Reading time: 1m 45s

Wine sales are dropping but Europe produced more wine this year anyway.

www.meininger.de/en/meininger...

NEVER be caught without wine. Your life may be at stake!

Good for them. But the bogus story doesn't actually look at total wine revenue at all. Wines sold in retail stores and restaurants are not counted, at all.

It's just poor mathematics. If you don't know how much wine is sold globally, you can't know what % is sold where.

No link because I don't want to lead people to click on a misleading story.

There's a bogus wine business story going around that claims 25% of global wine revenue comes from tourism.

Bullshit. The figure comes from a survey of small wineries that depend on tourism. 🧵

Hat tip to the headline writers at the New York Post

Smashburger or fatburger?

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/...

Lakeside Wines Up Their Game | Wine-Searcher News & Opinion Ageworthy Lugana offers an affordable substitute for white Burgundy. Read the latest wine news & opinion on wine-searcher

White wines from Lugana, on the shores of northern Italy's Lake Garda, have a rich body with good freshness, and they age well.

They don't taste like white Burgundy, but the body and mouthfeel make them a reasonable substitute at 1/10 the price.

www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/10/la...

Jury convicts California activist who took chickens from Perdue Farms plant Jurors have convicted a California animal rights activist for taking four chickens from a major Perdue Farms poultry plant. Zoe Rosenberg was found guilty Wednesday of trespassing and conspiracy. She....

Here is a very California story: Farmers vs. the far left.

Sonoma County jury convicts a woman who claims she was rescuing chickens named Poppy, Aster, Ivy and Azalea by stealing them from a chicken farm.

www.sfgate.com/news/article...

Congrats on the assignment! Bon Appetit hates wine; they had a lead "critic" for several years who only wrote about natural wines, and her taste test was drinking directly from the bottle.

This is just their latest anti-wine evolution.

B&Ms

Senator Alvarado-Gil Calls for Legislative Action as California Winegrowers Struggle California senator calls on Legislature to aid winegrowers amid falling grape prices and demand, leaving crops unharvested.

A California legislator calls for state support of the wine industry.

But here's a political reality: she's a Republican and Democrats have an absolute majority in the state legislature. And they're not especially in a work-together mood.

pro.stateaffairs.com/ca/agricultu...

Cruse x Hirsch, tasting some Californian gems from this star partnership wineanorak.com/2025/10/28/c...

Members of Congress are getting paid while they have shut down the government. Air-traffic controllers, TSA agents and many others are NOT getting paid.

We need a law cutting off pay for members of Congress in shutdown times. But it would have to come from ... Congress.

The strange debate over the world's oldest McDonald's burgers "It's no longer food."

Here's a bizarre story about a family treasure: a 30-year-old McDonald's burger that has never been refrigerated.

www.sfgate.com/food/article...

¡Yo voté!

(on prop 50)
(probably not how you wanted me to)

I saw this movie! It's called "28 Days Later."

Gallo is now the largest wine company in the US by far, AND the third-largest spirits company.

www.shankennewsdaily.com/2025/10/28/3...

YouGov releases a restaurant poll that shows Americans think restaurants are too expensive and plan to eat out less.

I feel like I've been hearing that for years (except for immediate post-lockdown) and would like to see year-on-year polling.

commercial.yougov.com/rs/464-VHH-9...

Novice wine reviewers are confident about their critiques. Until they are not Marketing research by Northeastern professor identifies U-shaped “confidence curve” among consumers of wine, beer and cosmetics.

A bit counterintuitive: people get less confident in their tasting appraisals as they get more knowledgeable.

news.northeastern.edu/2025/10/28/w...

Political peril spurs Trump to act on beef prices even as ranchers rage The average price for a pound of ground beef is $6.32, up about 14 percent since Trump took office.

Can somebody explain to the federal government that the whole point of tariffs is to raise prices?

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

What's the wine?

High-end Napa Valley wellness resort faces foreclosure The owners of a high-tech “wellness village” resort on the southern edge of Napa are facing foreclosure on the property, according to county records.

This place charges $1117 per night.

Perhaps even Napa Valley has hit a limit in what it can get away with charging.

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

To be a journalist, you have to do journalism.

Yes, this is a comment on some news of the day.

America's largest city and all your mayoral choices are disastrous. Good luck!

I can't enjoy the outraged responses to this column if I don't repost it.

NYC mob is a pathetic shell of what it used to be, full of ‘stunads’ that would make Tony Soprano blush: sources John Gotti would roll in his grave over how weak and brainless the Big Apple’s five families have become— with a no-killing approach and roughly 100 to 250 members each, the sources said.

The Mafia was in the news this week and a lot of us thought, "They still exist?" An interesting article about their decline -- which the authors link to their not murdering people anymore.

nypost.com/2025/10/24/u...

Now go see Bugonia, also shot in VistaVision. I've seen both. One Battle After Another has a lot going for it, but Bugonia, to me, is the one more likely to compel a second watch.

If you want to feel better about this, look up the prices for NFL American football shirts.