Here it is, our confession:  we never really wanted a tasting room. We like--no, make that LOVE--making wine. But having a tasting room is effectively running a store, and neither of us have a "calling" for that. One of the most important things you can do in business is to assess what you are good at, and DO that. Then you figure out how to hire the staff to do the necessary things you don't/can't do . . . or figure out how to structure your business to leave out the stuff you'll never do well. We're really lucky--we have distributors and sales staff who are brilliant at selling our wines and frankly, they have saved us from doing what we're bad at!

Now, due to empty-nest syndrome (the kids are grown and have flown!) we recently moved out of our home and facility on Silverado Trail in St. Helena.  We bought a very cool house in Berkeley--designed and built in 1907 by Bernard Maybeck. The commute to the Napa Valley is reasonable, and it's fun to be in the middle of the cultural, educational and social variety that is available in this crazy city. We can ride our bikes safely, and walk to the grocery--something that was difficult to do where we lived in the upper Napa Valley. We've discovered that staying in the same old place wasn't going to keep us challenged and excited--so here we are. 

Kent continues to make our wonderful wines and Celia is still doing the compliance; life is still a grand mystery, and we are still exploring it!

Not only that, but she's gone and gotten herself a CD release concert.  If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can see her perform on January 16, 2013 at the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley. Who says you can't have fun in middle age?

So let us know what you think about the video!

We recently made a sojourn to Southern California in honor of family birthdays. Kent really should be a tour guide--he was brilliant at planning our "no rest for the weary" trip of four days. Disneyland, Getty Museum, the Huntington Library, and visits to old Ramsay family haunts:  all were on our itinerary. You might be interested in the culinary events along the way, so here's a list of things we ate:

• Irish Coffees at the Auld Dubliner in Long Beach (prior to a harbor cruise--very good and STRONG!)
• Dinner at Duke's in Huntington Beach (very nice)
• Cotton candy, and Mickey-shaped beignets at Disneyland (not our regular dietary regimen, but one must do what one must do!)
• Dinner at Wine Country Trattoria in Disneyland (a little slow to get us seated, but once settled, the food was good!)
• Lunch at Philippe-the Original in downtown LA (I love this place--deli dining with sawdust on the floor--and great pie; following this we shopped at Olivera Street, wandered through Union Station where someday I want to have lunch, and took ourselves on a tour of downtown LA, including a visit to the Bradbury Building of Blade Runner fame.)
• Box dinner at the Hollywood Bowl (great food, but completely overwhelmingly packaged and hard to manage at your seat.)
• Walking tour of the food stalls at the Historic Farmer's Market; worth doing: www.meltingpottours.com
• Dinner at the Getty Museum restaurant--lovely white table cloth place--perfect for a Friday or Saturday date night, FYI.
• Tea at the Huntington Library Tea Room--in addition to touring the library, the art collection and the botanical gardens, this is a must-do!

I'll Just Lie About It is a big departure from my first CD, Songs of My Father's People--all traditional songs that are mostly from Scotland, which you can also listen to samples of on the CD Baby website.  You can also order them directly from me, if you prefer.

Anyway, this is further proof that even in middle age, you can learn a few new tricks!

We went out for a family bike ride this afternoon, choosing this time to go to Treasure Island. We went wine tasting, had lunch at the Oasis Bar and Grill, and enjoyed the cool afternoon breeze, which was perfect for bike riding. We discovered the most amazing sculpture. The beautiful dancing woman was made of wire; to look at her you could see the surface of her skin and at the same time look right through her. She was captivating.

Locals rarely think to visit Treasure Island, but it was a lovely afternoon.  Once the new Bay Bridge is completed, there will be a pedestrian/bike lane on the East Bay side, and it is rumored that there will be ferry service from the Ferry Building in the not too distant future; that will be quite a lovely little treat for locals and visitors, alike!

Here's a picture of Kent organizing his new office area--we've made the move! After many years of living and working in St. Helena, we have decided to move our winery back to the original site in Carneros, and our office and personal lives to new digs in Berkeley. It's a big change, and while we've got the boxes and furniture taken care of, it's a long way from being finished. Stay tuned to find out exactly what comes next.

And what of the St. Helena location? Well, while we are going back to our Carneros roots, a new winery will be leasing that property from us.

Celia, here. You many not know this (unless you've read my bio) but I "call" Contra dances, professionally.  That means I get paid to teach and prompt dancers in New England style folk dancing, kinda like a square dance caller.  Last night I got to call a Contra dance in Monterey!

On the way home today, Kent and I stopped in Castroville for lunch. Also known as "the artichoke capital of the world," Castroville suffered a lot of damage in one of our bigger earthquakes some years back. I was pleased to see that this little agricultural town has not lost any of its charm. Let's face it – artichokes rock!

Anyway, it's a lean, clean machine now. That's makin' me happy. Let me know what you think?