Wine Blogs


  • Respectfully, the Martini

    It's time to revisit the facts and fiction regarding the Martini.…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 9.

    Two events in the 1970's catapulted California onto the world wine scene…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 8.

    It's the 1950s and Americans are consuming wine again, albeit mostly in jug form. However, a few brave souls in California are interested in revitalizing its distant wine glory.…


  • Yno Tasting Beta Program.

    Announcing the Yno Tasting beta program for wineries.…


  • What the Hell is a Wine Club? Final Post.

    In my final post I try to describe why the wine club model may be threatened by the brew pub, as well as list my 7 points of advice to finding your wine club.…


  • What the Hell is a Wine Club? Part 2.

    In part 2 of my post on wine clubs I try to explain why they exist and why wine consumers are joining them more and more.…


  • What the Hell is a Wine Club? Part 1.

    For over 3 years I worked in wine hospitality selling wine clubs. More often than not I found myself trying to explain to consumers why they even exist and, more importantly, why anyone should join one. In this 3 part series I will try to revisit those conversations.…


  • Adiós Penedès.

    Final thoughts from my trip to Penedès…


  • Greetings from Penedès. Day 6.

    Today I visited Can Rà fols dels Caus which means "house of rabbit caves." Indeed, such an amazing place I actually felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland.…


  • Greetings from Penedès. Day 5.

    If you've read any of my posts you know that wine history is, well, a fascination of mine. So naturally, when I stumbled on a wine museum I had to go in.…


  • Greetings from Penedès. Day 4.

    Penedès is all about Cava. Today I toured two of its largest producers.…


  • Greetings from Penedès. Day 3.

    Today I took a walk and...oh look, a winery!…


  • Greetings from Penedès. Day 2.

    On day 2 while rambling about in Sidurni d’Anoia (aka Cava Capitol) I found something very...disturbing.…


  • Greetings from Penedès. Day 1.

    The Yno Guy is in the Catalonian wine country. Stay tuned for more photos and tasting notes in the days to come.…


  • Up Dry Creek with a Pin

    New changes for the YnoGuy.…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 7.

    Prohibition is over and the wine industry is left for dead...or is it? Enter the Gallos.…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 6.

    Bottled beer, the panic of 1893, prohibition, and the invention of the cocktail. Wine enters a dry period lasting decades.…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 5.

    As Phylloxera ravaged European vines, California experienced a wine renaissance thanks to the contributions of some early wine pioneers…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 4.

    The American wine industry is ripe with colorful characters, but few can compare with Count Agaston Haraszthy…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 1.

    In this blog series I try to figure out, in light of the evidence, why Napa has some much "cargo"?…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 2.

    In our 2nd installment of Tale of Two Counties we’ll investigate their respective terroirs...whatever that is.…


  • Tale of Two Counties. Napa vs. Sonoma. Part 3.

    California’s vine history started early and often thanks to a little known Spanish grape and and a hand full of Jesuits…


  • Software Blogs


  • Yno Tasting

    It was almost 5 years ago when I decided to enter the wine business. For 10 years prior I was a software developer. Now, I've decided to combine the two. I'm excited to introduce my new wine app, Yno Tasting. It's the answer to finding that perfect wine...and other stupid questions.…


  • Yno Wine Trivia

    What “non-existent” wine did Ellen Barkin offer Matt Damon in Oceans 13? Where does Gruner Veltliner come from? These questions and more are answered by Yno Wine Trivia. A fun Alexa skill to play with friends or study for WSET, Sommelier, or CSW tests.…