Tag Archives: Wine 101

Kindle for Christmas?

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Did you get a new Kindle for Christmas?

Then you need something to read. If you are wine-inclined, download one or both of my books onto your new Kindle!

Cover for Wine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine TastingWine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine Tasting is a fun and easy book covering the basics of wine. You’ll never be intimidated by wine snobs again. More importantly, you will  find that wine is really not that complicated and can be confident your preferences. The Kindle edition is only $4.95.

wine, wine guide, gold country, napa, not napaPour Me Another: An Opinionated Guide to Gold Country Wines is one of Amazon’s highest ranked books about California Wines. The Sierra Foothills are home to some of the best wines being made in California. All that wine and great Gold Rush era towns as well. The book covers the wines of Amador and El Dorado Counties, with entries for 68 different wineries. The Kindle edition is only $7.99.

No Kindle in your stocking? That’s not a problem. Amazon offers free Kindle apps for your Mac, PC and smart phones that allows you to read Kindle ebooks on almost any device. Downloading the guide book onto your smart phone is a great way to travel.

Happy Christmas and Merry reading!

Book Signing & Tasting Fees

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Stage Left Cellars, in Oakland. Their friendly tasting room.

I will be having a book signing in Oakland this weekend. There is also news about Amador County wineries instituting tasting fees.  Let’s chat a bit about both.

Book Signing

Saturday, December 1st, Stage Left Cellars in Oakland is hosting me for a book sale and signing.  I am honored to be included in their once monthly public tasting event. They make wonderful Rhone inspired wines in very small lots. I will have copies of both books, Pour Me Another and Wine 101, for sale and to sign. The tasting room will be open from 11am until 5pm, and I will be there the entire time or until all my books are sold, whichever comes first.

Here is a link to a map locating Stage Left Cellars.

Even if it is raining, come on out and taste some great wine and pick up some books and buy some wine to give as gifts or for yourself.

Tasting Fees

I recently learned that most of the Amador County wineries will be instituting tasting fees beginning December 1st.  Each of the wineries will have different policies about the amount of the fee and whether or not the fees are waived if you buy. While this sounds unfortunate, it is understandable from a business point of view.

I understand why wineries decide to charge for tastings, especially when they become popular and people show up to taste and do not buy. When a winery does not charge a tasting fee, I ALWAYS buy at least one bottle. It is part of the etiquette of wine tasting.

Most of the wineries that I visit and write about are small, family businesses. I want to support these small businesses. Running a winery is not an easy or profitable business. If you like their wines, and even if you weren’t wild about their wines, if there was no charge for the tasting, buy at least one bottle in exchange for having had a full tasting flight. Yes, even if you weren’t wild about their wines. Here’s why: I have learned that there are wines I disliked in the tasting room that I loved at home, and wines I loved in the tasting room and disliked at home. It is part of the mystery of wine. It is why you have to taste and drink a wine more than once to decide if you like it.

Support the small wineries. If they don’t charge a tasting fee, buy a bottle.  You get to taste 5 – 10 wines and they get to stay in business. That is a Good Thing, as the martyred St. Martha is wont to say.

 

Wine 101 eBook Promotion Today & Tomorrow Only

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Cover for Wine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine TastingToday, Friday 8/31 and tomorrow, 9/1, the Kindle edition of my second book, Wine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine Tasting, will be FREE at Amazon.com.  This is a limited time opportunity.  Sunday the price goes back to $4.95.

No Kindle? No problem!  Amazon offers the Kindle app for iPad, iPhone, Android smart phones, Mac’s, and PC’s.  The apps are free to download.  I have the Kindle app on my Android smartphone and it allows me to have my reading material in my pocket all the time.

Download Wine 101 today! “Like” it at Amazon, tag it, review it.  Tell your friends!

Wine 101 Published! Free This Friday & Saturday

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Cover for Wine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine TastingWine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine Tasting, my second book, is now available!  You can purchase the book now as a paperback through my printer.  It is also available at Amazon.com.

The book is also available in a Kindle ebook edition.  If you can wait a couple of days, I’m doing a big book launch promotion this coming weekend.  Wine 101 will be available for download for free ONLY in the Kindle format on Friday, 8/31 and Saturday, 9/1.  After that date the Kindle edition will be $4.95.

Tell all your friends!  Feel free to share this post at FaceBook, Twitter, email, carrier pigeon….

So, this weekend, give Wine 101 a “like” at Amazon.com, download it for free and, if you are so moved, a nice review at Amazon.

Post, Post, Where Are The Posts?

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Cover for Wine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine TastingYes, it has been a while since I posted much here, which I feel bad about.  But no regrets. I’ve been working feverishly on completing my second book, Wine 101: An Introduction to Wine and Wine Tasting.  The book will be released at the end of this month.

It has been a sprint here at the end.  I’ve been completing the manuscript and now editing and designing this book so that it will look great as well as read great.

When Pour Me Another was published, I was approached by some people who confessed to me that they were intimidated about the idea of going wine tasting because they felt they didn’t know enough about wine.  They were afraid of being embarrassed or looking stupid at a wine tasting.

At the suggestion of a friend, I decided to write this book.  Wine 101 is an introduction to wine for those who are new to the subject or who, while they drink wine, want to know more about it.  It will help you understand the language used by wine snobs.  It will help you understand how wine is made, how to taste wine, and even how to read a wine label.

I’m excited about this book.  I will be launching the publication with a series of wine tasting classes.  More about the classes will be forthcoming.  But they should be fun and educational.  How can you lose?