It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend, Jim Mehl, this past April, 2018.

This quote seemed appropriate:

“I love everything that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines.”

                                                    – Oliver Goldsmith

Goodbye old friend.

I was born and raised in Texas but have been in California so long I consider myself a native. The wine country was a great inducement. I am a software engineer by trade. My greatest achievement in that area was being part of the creation of SQL at IBM Research. I am working on a second career as a poet.

I began wine making in the mid 70′s with concentrates, strawberries, apples, etc. I got serious in 1979, 1980 with real grapes from Wine and the People in Berkeley. In 1981 I joined Chateau Garage.

With regard to preferences, I like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel in approximately that order. On the other hand, I think Petite Sirah, Shiraz, Rhone wines and such are not fit for human consumption.