Two of my favorite memories are ice cream related. "Ice cream" What do those words mean to you? Childhood memories are my first connections and mental images. Running after the ice cream truck. Begging mom for coins. And the delirious satisfaction at the first sweet, creamy smell and taste as it drips down your hand. Sigh. The ice cream memories that are foundational for me. The memories which come unbidden, are of my grandmother Claudia and my great aunt Marjorie. My grandmother Claudia was wonderful. Iconic. A grandmother archetype, the definition of “grandmother” I wish everyone could have those experiences. The ice cream memory of her was when she drove my little brother and I down to the little hamburger shack below Richland High School. It’s still there, with a new name and paint job. My grandmother drove a red Thunderbird in those days. Around 1968 she drove us in her red Thunderbird to that hamburger place for an ice cream cone. When she pulled up to the window...
Last month I left one of my favorite jobs in the Washington wine industry. After 35 months working at Col Solare Winery on the Red Mountain AVA, I have decided to take a break from wine sales and wine education. It was my choice. I remain a huge fan of Col Solare and their talented winemaker and cellar crew. Miss them too. Twenty years ago I began working in the Washington wine industry. My first wine job was in 2005 working for Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Washington. What an amazing time. I learned I loved selling wine and telling stories about wine. This is when I began taking wine far more seriously, and learned more about winemaking, grape varieties, and customer interactions. Also, during this phase I was inspired to create this blog. I was discovering my writing "voice" and the beginning of my teaching voice. Thank you Rob, Deborah, Micky, Miah, Meagan, Kim, and all those I worked with. Thank you. Writing about wine, from a wine sales and production winery v...