Archive: Aug 2015

Labor Day is almost upon us again – already!  It’s been an odd year, thanks to an El Nino that has kept things unseasonably warm, but now that warm weather is going to be a blessing, because this is the official weekend Americans love to get out and fire up their barbecue. Burgers are the traditional grilled food of choice, but there’s no need to worry too much about pairing your beer to your food. Since Labor Day is a time to hang around outside with friends, consider pairing your drinks to the weather instead! Since the odds are that it’s going to be a warm day, stock up on light beers with light flavors and a relatively low alcohol content so that you don’t get thirsty and end up taking an impromptu nap and missing the party! IPAs, or…

We’re coming up on the end of August, the slow and heavy days where nothing seems to happen and the bustle of early summer has been replaced by sleepy, sultry afternoons.  These are the Dog Days, so called because Sirius, the Dog Star, rises with the sun this time of year, at least in our hemisphere. It’s also the quiet interlude before Wine Country’s biggest time of year: the harvest!  This is a great time to travel to California if you don’t live here, or explore the region around you if you do, because there are all kinds of events that take place around harvest season. Harvest time lasts a couple of months, because some grapes take a little longer to ripen than others or are left a little longer on the vine.  It starts around September (although some grapes…