Liquid Love Letter: Winds of Change

Cathy

Over the weekend I spent some time in Monterey and Carmel, California, with my buddy Claire. Although I’ve lived in coastal California before, I had somehow lost a full awareness of how powerful, crashing and purely *elemental* the Pacific Ocean can be.

Lordy.

So impressive was it, that I was inspired to write about the impact not just of the coastal influence but about the wind itself on wine regions around the world. I’m thinking most notably of the Petaluma Gap of Sonoma County (whose AVA, or American Viticultural Area designation, is officially defined by its unique wind and fog conditions), and the Santa Ana winds of southern California, and perhaps most famously, the “Mistral” winds of southern France that affect growing conditions — and arguably local residents’ frames of mind — in the Rhône, Provençal and Languedoc regions.

Then Matthew reminded me that this week will in fact be the final issue of Liquid Love Letter here in Men’s Journal. His editors have decided to go in a different direction, and our collaboration as writers on this platform will come to an end.

Which redirected my thoughts about the influence of the wind on wine onto thoughts about the winds of change. Which, of course, are incessantly blowing, with our agreement or not.

This column itself has changed since Matthew and I started co-writing it more than a year ago. We started, for example, with a cheeky “Sex in a Glass” title for our Wednesday publication, that was soon censored to “Liquid Love Letter.” (I still like the original option better, for the record!)

As we wrap up our collaboration in its current form, though, I wanted to thank Matthew for so graciously inviting me as a collaborator and co-conspirator for these columns that I hope readers have found to be fun, entertaining and friendly about wine and this world we love so much.

I’m excited to see where the winds of change will land us next!

Matthew

When one door closes...

...another bottle opens.

I can be cheeky when the occasion calls for it.

Just over a year ago I was on a press trip with journalists in Napa Valley, meeting with writers whom I had read their writing and knew their influence on the scene. Though I have a 20 year career in the wine industry, I was new to this side of things. I treaded lightly, listened more than I spoke (for a while), and took in the wisdom offered by my fellow journalists.

Cathy and I met on this trip, and I remember her asking me, "why aren't you being more controversial?"

...what a question.

Truth be told, I didn't think I had earned the right. Not yet.

From that question and my answer, was born a weekly column we origunally called Sex In a Glass, and as Cathy alluded to above, it was flagged and we renamed it to Liquid Love Letter . Every Wednesday for the last year we have collaborated on fun topics based on our travels and interests.

This is our last weekly collaboration as it has lived on Men's Journal since September of 2023. I'm confident it will not be our last collaboration.

When one door closes...

...another bottle opens.