Message in a bottle

C'est chez moi

Panoramic capture of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti by the author. Suitable for living room walls? Why not!

Hello, all,

This is an update rather than a post, as the last three weeks have been on a tumultuous side for me.

In mid-June I began furiously clearing out and packing my abode in Lodi—as I write, I am surrounded by dozens of boxed books and household sundry—in preparation for a move to New Mexico. And of course, dust mites began counterattacking in just as furious a fashion. I hate moving.

Towards the end of June, though, it dawned on me: As much as I love New Mexico, it might be a better idea to remain in California to increase my options of landing freelance writing jobs. My specialty, after all, is wine, and this is where over 60% of all wine sold in the U.S. (domestic and imported) is grown and produced. Duh.

It also occurred to me that over the past fifteen years of my Lodi residency, I had attained still another skill: Photography. For good idea of that, I invite you to visit my Randy Caparoso Photography page. I am now thinking that this could be the making of a fourth career, once I figure out how to effectively get my work out into the public. Wish me luck.

Therefore, I have decided to stay put. For now.

Contemplative shot of entrance to adobe home in Cerrillos, New Mexico.

Lest you forget, I remain an Editor at Large and the Bottom Line columnist for The SOMM Journal (something I’ve been doing since 2008, when it started off as Sommelier Journal). I will probably increase my work with the magazine.

Finally untethered from commitments in Lodi, I can also look forward to catching up on various parts of the West Coast, gathering more ammunition for The Wine Clarion posts. Next week, for instance, I look forward to sitting down with Darrell Corti, Tegan Passalacqua and Marco Cappelli to taste more than a half-dozen bottlings of historic Angelica, that near forgotten wine made primarily (although not always) from Mission, the grape that care forgot. Stay tuned for that.

Plus, there is the matter of finally getting my next book published, working title Culinary Approach to Wine In Restaurants, chapters of which can be gleaned on the Substack page of the same name.

As always, thank you for your patience and support. If you are thinking of responding with thoughts or ideas, please don’t hesitate. I value input, just as much as you or anyone else in the world.

Best as always, RC

Ulu (breadfruit) in Hawai’i.