Steve Heimoff visits my back yard
 

Well, not literally *my* back yard, but close:

http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.ph...-tries-harder/

I've lived here for 9 years, and was delighted to discover a handful
of
local wineries early on. Heimoff isn't kidding when he writes
"Suisun Valley is old-timey California. It hasn’t changed much in
100 years despite being right off the Freeway between the Bay Area
and Sacramento. It has plenty of physical beauty and rural charm".
Even though I live in a newly-built subdivision home, most of this
area
hasn't changed much in a very long time, and you can find tombstones
dating back to 1852 in the local cemetery.

In the 9 years I've lived here, one winery has changed hands a few
times, a couple have closed, several more have opened and existing
ones have worked to improve their wine quality. Heimoff pretty much
gets it right; some of the winemakers need to taste against the
"competition"; I remember well the day that I ran into a local vintner
at
Safeway, he was looking for a collection of examples of a particular
varietal in a particular price range so they could make an apples-to-
apples
comparison in final blending - no surprise that winery has made
dramatic improvements in the 9 years I've been drinking their wine.

It's fun to compare notes with the pundits sometimes.