I went to the dentist this morning. His official prescription was “get a new job” because “the stress is ruining your gums”. Then he told me that I should be a dentist. I don’t think he’s very trustworthy, but I did start reflecting on things that make me clench my [...]

Even home winemakers need to take a break for a cocktail every once in awhile. National Margarita Day, celebrated annually on February 22, is as good an excuse as any. For the contemplative winemaker and wine enthusiast, be advised that there are several similarities between tequila and wine. Aged tequila [...]

Earth is a pretty great place, isn’t it? I think we can all agree on that*. We get to live on it. It’s very beautiful. We have lots of water and an excellent atmosphere. Each one of us bears a responsibility to protect it. Taking steps to lessen the impact that we have on the environment [...]

The residents of Baltimore just endured one of the coldest weeks in years. Temperatures rarely rose above freezing and wind chills were in the single digits. Unlike most of the city, we’ve been anxiously waiting for it to get cold. We needed temperatures to dip low enough for us progress to the next stage of white [...]

Finally, a comprehensive online resource to find wine and grape grower associations, organized by state. The connections you need to buy local grapes. Access it here. As I first reported at examiner.com, the exceedingly popular, perhaps slightly worn catch-phrase “think globally, act locally” urges all of us to take action [...]

We here at Making Abeille feel very strongly about using local grapes. To help you, the winemaker, identify growers in your state, we’ve assembled a Local Grapes Guide. We know you’ll agree that it feels good to support local vineyards. Not to mention, the extreme pride you’ll experience when you [...]

When I was a young man, I got a book on sports heroes of the twentieth century. It allowed me to learn about men and women who had left a lasting mark of achievement, professionalism, and triumph on their chosen sports. People like Ben Hogan in golf, Babe Didrikson in [...]

In its February 2013 edition, Wine Spectator published a feature on the Finger Lakes, praising the “emergent” region for “gaining experience quickly”. This somewhat patronizing characterization may or may not have gone over like gangbusters with upstate New York winemakers, given the fact that the Finger Lakes region has been [...]