Darius Miller

Darius Miller

Hurry Up and Wait

I have heard the expression “hurry up and wait” over and over while working with the military for over 20 years and the same expression is true around the winery.  Wine takes time to mature, parts have long lead times…

We Crushed It!

Earlier in the month, the NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service) released the 2018 Grape Crush Report which is an impressive 164 pages of all kinds of geeky information. The bottom line is that California Crushed (processed) 4,506,583 tons of grapes…

Get The Franc Out!

Pre-dawn one cold morning last November, Steve and I were standing in the Camp Four vineyard in Santa Ynez staring at 12 macro bins heaping with Cabernet Franc grapes. I was contracted for 12,000 pounds but what stood before us…

What’s Up Bud?

As the weather warms and the winter clouds begin to fade, the grape vines are waking up. The vineyards have soaked up the winter rains that will nourish the plants throughout the summer. As the sun warms the vineyard and…

Rack and Roll

As spring rolls in, it’s time to rack and roll in the cellar. The 2017 wine is getting ready for bottling and the 2018 wine is waking up and growing up. The French call this process elvage which is comparable…

What’s In the Bottle?

picture of bottle tops

[dc]L[/dc] ast week we talked about barrels, but what about bottles? Starting about 6,000 BCE large earthenware containers called “kvevri” were used in the country of Georgia; they were coated with beeswax were used for both the fermentation and storage…

What’s That Smell?

dog smelling grass

[dc]A[/dc] s a winemaker, I smell a lot of wine. Some wines are very aromatic and others are more reserved. Some smell like fruit while others are earthier or herbaceous. Each wine has its own set of aromas based upon…

Sac or Bust

empty pants pockets

Next week a small armada of Koi Zen Cellars folks will be converging in Sacramento. Nothing starts the new year off as a trip to Sacramento for the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium. On January 29-31, thousands of merchants, vendors,…

Waiting

a man looking at his watch

The 2018 harvest is about to start and Mother Nature has decided she is not going to be easy or timid – she wants to start with a bang! The grapes have been ripening in what most farmers are calling…

Dream Dinners Poway CA

Dream Dinners Logo

Dream Dinners is a unique company founded on a mission of bringing families together around the dinner table. We provide everything you need to assemble great dinners to enjoy as you relax and talk about the events of the day.…