Hi. I'm James.
Designer, writer, traveler, wine-lover, culture nerd, runner, husband, dad, etc...
What's My Story?
How does that make me qualified to write about wine?
Aside from designing a label or two and branding a bunch of restaurants around the world… It doesn’t.
I’m not qualified or certified to any degree to be a professional wine critic, writer or otherwise. I’m just passionate about stories and the history of wine is overflowing with them … past and present. Doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty damn delicious too!
Did I mention my passion for American history too? Conveniently, I live where the foundations of our country and the Northern VA AVA overlap. Lucky me! George Washington and his brothers pretty much owned everything around here.
Travelling, exploring and going outside to play in nature are also passions of mine. I’ve lived most of my life surrounded by the mountains where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers collide. It’s beautiful (don’t trust me, trust in Thomas Jefferson) so naturally, its great for growing wine grapes.
All of these passions and randomly collected stories of our history come in really handy when I play tour guide when my wife’s family visits from California.
I hope they entertain you too.
The Rating System
1 Star
Do I really need to explain this one?
Don’t do it.
Just don’t
2 Stars
I’ll finish the glass.
What else is there to drink around here?
3 Stars
Good. Drinkable. Maybe I’ll have it again in the future.
It might or might not be my thing, but I won’t hold that against it.
4 Stars
This is really good. Stock up! Hoard.
Tell only those you want to share with.
5 Stars
A historic wine.
One for the ages.
Stories will be told long into the future.
Empty Bottles
Wineries
States
Stories Written
Travel Highlight Reel
Recent Stories
The latest ramblings of a wine-loving American.
An Interview with Winegrower Nate Walsh
Exploring the art and science of elevating experiences at Walsh Family Wine. I met Nate Walsh late last year and quickly became a big fan of what he and his wife Sarah are building with Walsh Family Wine. Here's a chat about working with wives, music, college, and ......
Dinner with Steven Spurrier
Intentionally Unintended Consequences. Life happens. For a bunch of guys hanging around Philadelphia with each other in 1776, declaring Independence from England was surely not what most of them thought they’d be doing when they sent a few disgruntled letters to the...
Book Report: Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt
Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking Rating: 3.5 outta 5 Author: Mark Will-Weber Words about words: Let's say you're not entirely like me. Meaning that reading presidential biographies is not something you do for fun and...