Amy Luftig Viste and Jasper Dickson were good friends who shared a passion for wine.  Jasper worked for the highly regarded retailer, Silver Lake Wines, and Amy was avidly pursuing knowledge through classes about wine.  Amy realized she was more interested in the production end of wine rather than service, such as becoming a sommelier.  Jasper moved closer to his…

The Friday night wine country excursions are my favorite event during the Wine Blogger’s Conference.  You don’t know where you are going until you get on the bus and I have never been disappointed.  There was a new twist this year during the opening night reception when we were able to select our excursions via a display of “hints.”  After…

On the second day of the 2016 Wine Blogger’s Pre-Conference Excursion in Lodi, my phone alarm began chiming at 5:00 a.m. I am never awake at this hour! But an experience not to be missed lay ahead. Our fearless leaders, Randy Caparoso and Jenny Heitman, loaded us onto our bus and we drove to the vineyards at Michael David Winery…

The 2016 Wine Blogger’s Conference was held in Lodi, CA from August 10-14.  Lodi is located in the Central Valley and has been growing wine grapes for over 150 years.  Fourth and fifth generation wine growers have been joined by newer vintners and the area, which enjoys a Mediterranean climate, produces a wealth of grape varietals. Best known for Old…