Here is the opening to my Monday column on an unusual topic in a sports section:
PHOENIX — Down here the talk is all baseball. The other day, I was chatting with A’s batting coach Chili Davis and we discussed hitting to the opposite field and the position of the top hand, stuff like that. But after a while, the vocabulary changed.
I introduced a new subject, introduced it while Davis and I sat in the home dugout at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Pretty soon, we were using words like “terroir” and “nose” and “vintage.”
To read the full column, please click here.
RC
Russian River is the up and coming Pinot region, try Sojurn or LaFolette to name just two.
March 10th, 2013 11:12 pm
Ben
Lowell i’m sure i’ve read it in a past entry or two, but can’t remember your varietal of choice. i fell in love with zinfandel when i lived in healdsburg for a few years… would take weekly motorcycle rides through dry creek valley and drop in on random wineries. back in the day, Fritz winery was one of my favorites for zin. there are also some great pinot makers in dry creek, none better than Papapietro-Perry if you ask me. in particular their Leras Family Vineyards. try it if you get the chance. hey… here’s an idea i know you’ll love: rent one of those gaudy wine tour limo busses and spend a day in and around healdsburg with Kruk, Bochy, Chili, our favorite PD columnist, and me, the random blog commenter. you in?
March 11th, 2013 5:39 am
glenellen
Well, you know what I’m going to say. You all need to come up here.
March 11th, 2013 8:39 am
glenellen
Check out the Jack London Lodge Rates in Glen Ellen.
http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/napa/Getaway/41726
March 11th, 2013 8:44 am
Stan
“Drunk” is such an ugly word-lol.
March 11th, 2013 8:53 am
mbabco
Nice column, Lowell.
March 11th, 2013 9:39 am
Frank in Minnesota
Fun column….nice to hear about wines and Chili Davis…you had a lot of fun with this interview and that came through…a fun and delightful column!
March 11th, 2013 11:52 am
Steve the cat rescuer
If he’s buying Screaming Eagle, among others, I guess Chili doesn’t mind spending many hundreds of dollars on a bottle of wine anymore. I still succumb to spending $50-90/bottle for Sonoma County Pinots and Zins, but I’ve discovered some darn good Mendocino County Pinots and Cabs for $40 and under, so I’ll probably be buying fewer Sonoma wines. Interesting that those “great” red wines that Krukow served at the time are now considered rather run-of-the-mill. As for Napa wines, there are only a few that I’ll buy and those are Petit Syrahs; everything else from Napa tends to be way overpriced. I’m with Chili when it comes to my favorite – give me a good Cali wine over anything else. On another note, I can’t imagine you having this conversation with Harbaugh (and I thought the same thing when I read your Bochy interview).
March 11th, 2013 1:16 pm
KauaiRobert
I know nothing about wine.
.
But hearing the name Chili Davis brings back fond memories.
.
Thanks Lowell!
.
.
.
~ALOHA~
March 11th, 2013 2:17 pm
bigandbold
2009 Ojai Syrah (Solomon Hills)
March 11th, 2013 2:20 pm
Streetglide
Russian River has always been Pinot country. Dehlinger has made some dandies for almost 30 years. I used to pour a decent one when I worked for Cecil at his place. Put msyelf through college in the tasting rooms of Sonoma County. Anderson Valley has some terrific Pinots.
Having moved east, the variety and quality of Amador Zins you’ve never heard of is amazing. Unfortunately, I quit all alcohol five months ago. All the more for you!
March 11th, 2013 2:38 pm
Reagtanajeb
As a teen in 1985, I vacationed with my mom to San Diego, where we took in a four game series at The Murph between the Giants and Padres. I got to see my sports hero at the time, Chili Davis, hit a long home run to right field. When we got back to our hotel room, I watched highlights on the news and saw myself standing with my arms raised as his homer left the yard. It was the greatest moment of my young life…until the next day, when he, along with Vida Blue and Gary Rajsich…yes, THE Gary Rajsich, signed my baseball. It made up for the Giants getting swept.
March 11th, 2013 9:27 pm
lance w
Lowell, this has nothing to do with wine or Chili, but I am curious if you still agree with your article about the “shrewd trade of the Warriors”? So far the Bucks have beat the Warriors all three times they have met since the trade. The Bucks are sitting comfortably in a playoff spot in the East and the Warriors are starting to sweat in the West. Personally I think the big difference with the Warriors is the GM and his acquisitions of Landry and Jack and drafting athletic bigs like Ezeli, Barnes and Green.
March 11th, 2013 10:10 pm