Liquid Love Letter: Winds of Change

Over the weekend I spent some time in Monterey and Carmel, California, with my buddy Claire. Although I’ve lived in coastal California before, I had somehow lost a full awareness of how powerful, crashing and purely *elemental* the Pacific Ocean can be.

Lordy.

So impressive was it, that I was inspired to write about the impact not just of the coastal influence but about the wind itself on wine regions around the world. I’m thinking most notably of the Petaluma Gap of Sonoma County (whose AVA, or American Viticultural Area designation, is officially defined by its unique wind and fog conditions), and the Santa Ana winds of southern California, and perhaps most famously, the “Mistral” winds of southern France that affect growing conditions — and arguably local residents’ frames of mind — in the Rhône, Provençal and Languedoc regions.

Then Matthew reminded me that this week will in fact be the final issue of Liquid Love Letter here in Men’s Journal. His editors have decided to go in a different direction, and our collaboration as writers on this platform will come to an end.

Which redirected my thoughts about the influence of the wind on wine onto thoughts about the winds of change. Which, of course, are incessantly blowing, with our agreement or not.

This column itself has changed since Matthew and I started co-writing it more than a year ago. We started, for example, with a cheeky “Sex in a Glass” title for our Wednesday publication, that was soon censored to “Liquid Love Letter.” (I still like the original option better, for the record!)

As we wrap up our collaboration in its current form, though, I wanted to thank Matthew for so graciously inviting me as a collaborator and co-conspirator for these columns that I hope readers have found to be fun, entertaining and friendly about wine and this world we love so much.

I’m excited to see where the winds of change will land us next!