Max Koch Uncorked

It’s August 29th and the LA County Fair opens today!  I’ve ALWAYS been impressed with their Wine, Spirits & Beer Marketplace. Now, listen, I have no idea why I’m so excited to tell you all this.  I’m not even going this year.  Oh, no, no, a county fair is WAY too much work.  And I’ve been […]

I kinda love this whole “Throwback Thursday” / “Flashback Friday” thing that’s going on out there.  I was always the guy who didn’t mind when you sat me down to show me your old photo albums or screen me your home movies. Here’s one I drew back in ’05.  I believe this was at Bonny […]

One thing I should make clear:  I am NOT a wine expert.  Since falling in love with wine back in 1996, I have been figuring this shit out as I GO. Case in point, last evening’s tasting of the The Dreaming Tree 2011 “Crush”, which is bottled in Geyserville, California. Now, I’ve never heard of […]

Currently streaming on Netflix, “Last Days Here” tracks the sorry saga of heavy metal has-been Bobby Liebling’s near-triumphant return to the stage.  I don’t know about you, but I always feel just a little bit better about myself when I see creative-type guys like Bobby rise and fall and sorta half-ass rise again.  If gives me […]

Every time there’s a new moon, my wife makes me write out my “New Moon Manifestations”. Well, here we are, August 25th, and guess what:  there’s a new moon!  Using the moon to manifest what I want out of life is hokey and, dare I say, a little hogwash-y.  But I do it each and […]

Arose to the unsettling news that a 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook the shit out of the Napa Valley wine region this morning.  While I was very sorry to hear there were a few injuries and some old buildings took a hit, I was FAR more concerned about the amount of wine that got wasted. For […]

If you’ve spent any time in California wine country, you have surely come across a wine dog.  They are usually very lazy and unmotivated and lying in a patch of shade somewhere on the property.  If you’re lucky, they will come and greet you as you roll up to the tasting room but then they […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS_G58QyTe8

Today, I get over my insecurities about what the hell I’m doing with my dopey life and release this blog unto the poor, unsuspecting, exhausted masses.  “Ugh, another wine blog, dude?”  God, I hope not. Celebrate with me by popping open a bottle of something special or hitting a local winery this weekend.  Just keep […]

A lotta people primarily think I’m Jewish because of how neurotic I can be…and/or my last name.  They also wonder if I’m related to the late Ed Koch or one of those much-maligned Koch Brothers that stir up so much outrage. I am not Jewish, I’m sorry to say.  I am a mixed salad of German, Irish, and […]