People are constantly trying to minimize the negative effects of drinking booze. I certainly fall into this camp, and in true cliché fashion, my efforts to not be hungover have only increased with age. My quest for the holy grail of drinking, where consumption flows freely without the negative impacts, led me to explore histamines in wine. What exactly are they, how do they get into wine, what effect can they have on a person, and finally, what can an affected person do? There are many urban legends (or is it country club legends when it comes to wine?) swirling around about why wine gives you ..read more

The downside to Natural Wines: Are these wines a waste of money? It may sound horrible to say, but I kind of hate most “natural” wines. I know I know…it’s hard to take anyone seriously when they “hate” something dubbed “natural” but read on! I have good reason. As a winemaker I have been trained to find, intervene, and head off any flaws in a wine –  while at the same time, encourage winemaking with a “sense of place.” A “sense of place” refers to a wine having distinct qualities that are general to a growing area. For example, Pinot Noir from the Russian River growing area have distingui ..read more

6 tips to look good talking about wine. AKA…talking wine for beginners!   If you are new to wine, talking about it with others can be confusing and/or intimidating. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be! In this post, we’ll be sharing a few tips we recommend to help you not only sound more knowledgeable, but help you learn more about wine. By the end, you’ll be confident enough to take a bottle of wine to a party and discuss it with all of the wine aficionados!   Wine is subjective First, let’s remember that if you like a certain type of wine, that is all that counts. It’s YOUR ..read more

Should you be aging your wines? If you aren’t aging the wines you buy, you are not alone. I hear it time and time again in the wine business, “75-85% of all wines purchased are consumed within 24-48 hrs.” I heard a version of this same statistic again this morning at a winemaking seminar. Winemakers and winery owners know that most people don’t age their wines for long. Many people drink their wine the same day they buy it! These days, aging and cellaring wine for years or even decades before they’re consumed makes zero business sense and goes against what the consumers want. What do wine drin ..read more

Talking Wine for Beginners: 6 Tips to Feign Wine Expertise If you are new to wine, talking about it with others can be confusing and/or intimidating. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be! In this post, we’ll be sharing a few tips we recommend to help you not only sound more knowledgeable, but help you learn more about wine. By the end, you’ll be confident enough to take a bottle of wine to a party and discuss it with all of the wine aficionados!   Wine is subjective First, let’s remember that if you like a certain type of wine, that is all that counts. It’s YOUR preference, so be c ..read more

Is there such a thing as "Healthy Wine?" Some brands out there may want you to believe that their wine contains the elixir of life, and drinking it is actually beneficial for your health. But can wine be healthy?  The short answer is…No. Ethyl Alcohol (found in alcoholic beverages) is considered a toxin. If you ingest it in excessive quantities, it can be harmful or even deadly. If ingested in small amounts it can be stimulating whereas slightly larger amounts become a depressant. Many struggle with an addiction to alcohol while many don’t. It has been known to bring people together or e ..read more

What if a wine were a tattoo? How does one  visually explain a wine? Is it based strictly on the flavor profile? The history of the grape? Perhaps the style of the wine or the wine itself? It’s interesting to think about! You may know that some of us at Lucky Rock Wine Co. have a few tattoos (ok maybe more than a few). Lucky for you, we’ve put some thought into what we believe to be the perfect tattoo and wine pairings.  Read on! Cabernet Sauvignon For Cabernet Sauvignon, we chose a “traditional” style tattoo, particularly the crown. If you have ever heard the adage “Cab is Kin ..read more

These days, shopping for wine has become more of a bargain hunt. Yes, you can still find the occasional stuffy snob who scoffs at any wine that costs less than $60. However, most of us layfolk drinkers simply want to find a delicious wine we can enjoy after a long 9-5 WITHOUT spending our entire paycheck. How does one guarantee getting great value amongst a sea of wine labels? How do you avoid the dreaded decision fatigue and still get a good deal? In this blog, we will disclose some tips and tricks to find the best wine bargains. Then we will recommend a couple of killer value wines that you ..read more

Clean Wines vs. Reality AKA: Does the Clean Wine trend have legs?   Spoiler Alert: Nope…Still Curious? Keep reading! Welcome back to another installment in the “VS” series (See our other blog in this series Wine Ratings vs Lucky Rock), where we wax lyrical and dissect the various wine related concepts.  This time we discuss a term that has surfaced recently but has enough pretentiousness to definitely “grind our gears”. We are talking, of course, about “Clean Wine”. Now, you may not be familiar with this term, to which we say: “good!” But it’s one of those terms that likes to ma ..read more

At Lucky Rock Wine Co., We have been getting tattoos since we were each 18 years old. Our first tattoos were relatively dumb, bad, ill-placed, and/or poorly done… tattoos can still suck, but the quality has gone up in a HUGE way. There are so many great artists out there and the technology has gotten so much better- now it is up to you to get what you want. How is that for pressure? We rock those ‘subpar’ tattoos still, for better or worse. We thought we would try and save you some of the remorse that we pretend we don’t have about our first tattoos by giving you some tips. And, because wine t ..read more