Update from the road

Tonight was the last of my brief California trip. The focus today was on closures, and a large panel of technical people were gathered to discuss the structure of a forthcoming closures trial which will be sponsored by Oeneo. Actually, it's not a closures trial, but rather a study aiming to look at bottle variation in the market place. When consumers buy a wine on two or more occasions, how much variation do they encounter?

It was nice to catch up with David Stevens and Clark Smith, two winemakers who have a technical angle to their work. It was also nice to put some names to faces, including Bruce Cass, Tim Gaiser, Wilfred Wong and Curtis Phillips. From the UK, Helen McGinn was also in town.

After the session, I headed off with Scott Burton, James Gabbani and Dean Banister for some beers down by the bay. Then it was off to a cocktail bar (Bourbon and Branch), followed by dinner at Hubert Kelley's burger bar at Macy's in Union Square. Tomorrow I have the morning free before flying back to the UK in the afternoon. It has been a productive and enjoyable trip.