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Posts published by “Mike Geniella”

The End Of A Special Time

There’s no more knocking back a few drinks and chowing down at the monthly “Cannibal Feed” in Ukiah. After 44 years the end has come for a male-only ritual that in its heyday drew hundreds…

Hopland’s Fetzer Vineyards Sold For $238 Million

In the biggest Mendocino County wine deal ever, Fetzer Vineyards of Hopland is being sold to a Chilean company for $238 million. Vina Concha y Toro S.A., Latin America’s leading wine producer, is the buyer…

Super Bowl Thoughts From a Couch Potato

So the New York Times’ cover page profile Monday of Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ charmed quarterback, has nary a mention of the young man’s strong ties to Mendocino County. The focus is on…

Giants, the Series & Duh, the Election

Count me among the folks who are seriously unmoved by next week’s looming election. Not even the marijuana legalization measure or the possible return to Sacramento of a former governor who advocates a “less is…

Remembering Fetzer Clan Matriarch Kathleen Kohn Fetzer

I didn’t know Barney Fetzer, a lumber executive turned legendary wine entrepreneur. He had already died when I arrived in Mendocino County 25 years ago. But over the years I have had the privilege of…

Rough Notes & Random Thoughts

It was unintentional, but I’m happy to have taken the summer off from writing my blog for theAVA.com. I know some of you feel the same but that’s not the point. It was a period…

Cloudy Skies & And so are my Thoughts

It’s a warm and gray morning. A blanket of clouds covers the Azores, casting a blue-gray shadow across the Atlantic. Some clouds creep slowly across the flanks of the towering volcano on the nearby island…

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