Comments on: Giveaway: House of Mondavi by Julia Flynn Siler

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:31:04 +0000

I just surfed over to random.org, which I use for all my random number needs, and generated a winner: Julia Flynn Siler! Seriously, I just plugged in 1 - 42 (the number of comments) and her number (35) came up.

So I deleted Julia and me from the list of eligible names as well as any duplicate comments and generated a new pair of winners: TH and Tyler, come on down! Your names were selected as winners of the prize so shoot me an email with your mailing address and I will send a copy out to each of you.

This was a great thread and there are lots of good ideas here for future research and writing.

By: Sylvia Burgos Toftness

Sylvia Burgos Toftness — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:58:39 +0000

Fetzer, or one of the other pioneering organic vintners

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:38:50 +0000

The Golitzin family from Quilceda Creek

By: Dale Cruse

Dale Cruse — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:32:40 +0000

I think the world is finally ready for an expose on Bartles and Jaymes.

By: boyce

boyce — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:30:49 +0000

This might be stretching the “American” angle a bit, but Miramir Torres and the Torres family.

Cheers, Boyce

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:16:36 +0000

Gotta agree with JDWebster on Walter Taylor also….Bully Hill was the most fun I have ever had inside a tasting room. The atmosphere was so laid back and unpretentious I actually called a wine a little “flacid” and the men didn’t turn and stare at me in horror.

By: Ron B

Ron B — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:03:28 +0000

I’d love to read a bio of Andy Beckstoffer. He’s a native of my adopted hometown, and went to the same high school as some of my wife’s family. As he’s more of a behind-the-scenes guy, I’d love to read more about how his name has become known for top-flight Napa Cabs without ever producing a regular vintage of his own.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:16:21 +0000

How about (another) bio of Robert Parker? Heck, pair it with bios of Stephen Tanzer, James Laube, and James Suckling, to create a portrait of the four most influential critics in wine?

By: Jasmurph

Jasmurph — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:46:00 +0000

I’d honestly like to read a full-blown expose of Yellowtail.

By: Julia Flynn Siler

Julia Flynn Siler — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:39:38 +0000

Thank you! So many good suggestions. What a fascinating industry filled with larger-than-life characters…

Best,
Julia Flynn Siler

By: TH

TH — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:54:04 +0000

If you’re looking at the greatest impact on the American wine industry I’d definitely like to know more about the role of UCDavis and the early struggles to establish the United States as a credible wine producer.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:02:23 +0000

There’s never been a biography of Frank Schoonmaker. Aren’t we about due?

By: JDWebster

JDWebster — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:07:07 +0000

To take things over to the other coast, how about Konstantin Frank or Walter Taylor. Two certainly very interesting figures in American wine history.

By: bill marsano

bill marsano — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:30:34 +0000

bb is onto something. Maybe the better idea is a book with a chapter of appropriate length for each of several or a dozen notable folks. I think it would have wider appeal. And it wouldn’t be subject to inflation in the sense once a book is planned on a given person, that book MUST by god, be ‘book-length,’ and that’s getting longer all the time, as if WEIGHT is what counts most.

By: bb

bb — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:12:48 +0000

I think it might be difficult to do a book length treatment of many of the interesting folks in the wine biz. I think that Paul Draper from Ridge has made any enormous contribution to the wine industry over the years, but may not warrant an entire book. Some of these folks just make really good wine, but don’t have the drama associated with them that folks like the Mondavis do. Randall Grahm, Draper, and many others would make for good chapters however.