Dearest Readers,

My sincere apologies for the dearth of recent posts. I could list some excuses (Europe, Burning Man Festival, etc.) but I’ll keep the little violin in my pocket for now. The truth is, your once-dedicated Roshamblogger will be taking a sabbatical from my post here at the winery. In the coming months I will be living like a hermit and tapping away at a humorous memoir about my life in Wine Country. Tentatively titled, The Vineyard Idiot: One Guy’s Journey from Zima to Zinfandel, the quirky memoir chronicles my move from Gloss Angeles to Sonoma County five years ago, and my sudden shift from shallow Hollywood starf*cker to small town stepdad. Detailing why a “vineyard idiot” like myself should NEVER work at a winery - in any capacity - the book unfolds like an insider’s look at the wine industry as seen through the eyes of an outsider. And your Wine Hero, Naomi Brilliant, Justice, and the Roshambo team are the real stars of the story.

Next week I’m meeting with a publisher in New York who has always been very supportive of my writings. He has offered to give me direction in hopes of someday bringing the memoir to market. I’m not sure what the future holds, but I know that at least for now, I have to fully dedicate myself to writing this story. With any luck, someday I’ll be able to share this story with all of you.

In the meanwhile, I’ll be turning the blog password over to other colorful members of our team. Like Steve Morvai, for instance. A suspected spray tanner, Steve redefined peacocking this past summer when he showed up to work our RPS tournament in a cowboy hat, boots, a stuffed green Speedo, and nada mas. Granted, the “sport” of RPS has seen many uniforms over the years, but this one sent chills down our spines.

… or Adam Savin, Roshambo’s National Sales Guru. Or on this afternoon, “RoshamPEPE”

See!?! There’s no shortage of personality on our staff!

I’m sure that you will be in great hands! It’s not that I’m going to completely disappear. It’s just that I’m gonna let them fill in my blanks for a while.

Thanks for reading and all your support!

Scott Keneally

Several years ago, a brilliant journalist by the name of Jeff Gordinier filed a feature for DETAILS magazine about young maverick wineries, including Roshambo. Gordinier spent the day with our Wine Hero and deftly captured her in print, describing her as “blessed with the graceful kind of morbidity of a Tim Burton movie princess.” Spot on. While this piece came out before I met Naomi, I already counted myself as a fan of his. In my humble opinion, the man can write circles around most anyone on the newsstands and I always looked forward to reading his stories. In 2005, he published “The Lost Boys,” a fascinating expose about the slew of boys being banished from a Utah polygamist compound. The piece grabbed national attention and Dave Eggers included it in his “The Best American Non-Required Reading 2005.” But more importantly, Gordinier is a hell of a nice guy. Over the years, he has served as a kind of mentor of mine and his patience, in the face of my barrage of (certainly annoying) questions, is cause enough for knighthood.

Now, about the book. It is wildly entertaining. Smart, bold and hilarious. Naomi and I bought two copies and read it together this past weekend. We raced through it like giddy hicks on a Motocross course. In a nutshell, the book makes the case that in the wake of the mass-media fixation on Baby Boomer nostalgia and Millennial me-me solipsism, Generation X has been forgotten: “The thirtysomething has been shuttled off, like Molly Ringwald herself, to some sort of Camp Limbo for demographic lepers.”

Here’s what Gordinier has to say about Generation Y:

“When it’s not obsessing over the mating habits of AARP members, the media beast has taken a fancy to another rising demographic cluster, the millennials… That’s right. The boomers bred, and their solipsistic progeny have arrived just in time to serve Generation X a second helping of anxiety. The millennials… seem to speak with none of the doubt and skepticism that have marked - and hampered- Generation. They just love stuff. They love celebrities. They love technology. They love name brands. They’re happy to do whatever advertising tells them to do. So what if they can’t manage to read anything longer than a photo caption or an instant message - that’s okay. If anything, it’s an advantage. Because literacy leads to self-reflection and critical thinking, and self-reflection and critical thinking open the door to doubt and sketpticism, and stuff like that just gets in the way when you’re trying to get ahead, and OMG did you see how fat Britney looks these days?!?!?!?!“

Of course, I had somewhat of a sinking feeling while reading this book, a pit in my stomach that I can only describe as a shocking recognition of the similarities between the Millennials and Me. Whereas Naomi is Gen X to the core, I’m a little bit more, oh, how shall we say, imbedded, or immersed in, OMG did you see that picture of me + Paris and me + Jessica?

Stick Boy liked Match Girl,
He liked her a lot.
He liked her cute figure,
he thought she was hot.

But could a flame ever burn
for a match and a stick?
It did quite literally;
he burned up quick.

**With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I thought I’d spread a little Hallmarkiday cheer from Tim Burton’s twisted storybook, “The Melancholy Death of Oysterboy.” This was one of the best selling books we ever carried in the Tasting Room. Looks like we’re not the only Dark Ones, huh?