I’d like to thank Lukka Feldman of Barndiva for his eloquent support of our transition in our comments section. For those of you who don’t know the Barn, it’s like a little slice of city chic in our sleepy wine country town. It happens to be one of my favorite spots in all of Sonoma County. Not just because of the food and drinks and atmosphere but because Lukka is a terribly amusing character. When he’s not sneaking up behind me and whispering in my ear, “I’m watching you, McKinnely,” he can be seen darting around the restaurant, spreading joy with his arsenal of fake accents and antics. If you are coming to Healdsburg and are looking for an ambient place to eat, drink or chill, Barndiva is definitely the spot.

Also of interest is Lukka’s enlightening weekly webcast “What Lukka Likes” on Wine Country TV. I particularly love the “Bubbles Abound!” episode which features our incredibly effervescent friend Dawn Elise from Iron Horse Vineyards. Our people are currently in talks with his people to get Naomi on the show next year, so stay tuned!

Today the Press Democrat ran a follow-up article in response to Naomi’s Open Letter on the Roshamblog. Please check it out and let us know what you think of all this!

We would like to thank Tom Wark of Wark Communications for his incredibly keen post about the evolution of Roshambo. He is a highly successful media relations expert and he understands where we are headed and why today’s news is so positive.

And… MUCHOS GRACIAS to our Nashville distributor, Tim Burke of Omni Beverage Company. We’ve only been working with him for a few months but he’s already sold the shit out of our wines in the fine city of Nashville. And upon reading Naomi’s Open Letter he had this to say…

Naomi

Hello to you from Nashville. Just read your letter about the goings on. I am writing to say I wish you all of the best during these changes. I am so impressed with your vision and irreverence. It is truly inspiring in the sea of blandness that can be the wine biz. Please know that I am completely loyal to Roshambo. We plan on becoming one of your biggest distributors. Let us know if we can be of any assistance. We are a team. Have a kick ass holiday.

Tim

I love the Roshambus and insist on driving it …………

Well Tim, we’d love to see you behind the wheel of the Roshambus. You deserve it. Not only because you have sold a lot of cases of our wine in such a short time, but because you really believe in what we are trying to do. So, a BIG “thank you” to Tim Burke and Tom Wark and all of our loyal fans and embassadors and distributors who have reached out today to lend their support. Please know that it means EVERYTHING to us. Hell, it’s why we are doing this in the first place! THANKS!

In 1970, my late grandfather, Frank Johnson retired to Healdsburg with dreams of the good life. He purchased apple and prune orchards and soon replanted those 55 acres with vines just off of Westside Road. His labor of love was well received and before long, he became one of the first vineyard-designated growers of California, most notably selling grapes to Chateau St. Jean. Most of my childhood summers were spent on the vineyard, running around playing hide and seek and riding four-wheelers with my cousins and younger brother, Morgan. I simply fell in love with the wine and vines. So after my grandparents both passed away, I felt an impulse to leave Portland, OR and my photography career behind to fulfill Frank Johnson’s dream of building a family winery on his land.

Of course, if I were going to pick up and go, to throw my heart and soul into this vast undertaking, I knew that the winery would have to reflect a certain playful and irreverent spirit. It had to be a living, breathing artistic endeavor. My goal was to cultivate a snob-free culture that would appeal to people like my friends who had always assumed wine was too esoteric and exclusive. I just wanted to demystify it - and I believe we succeeded. With our quirky events like our Pirate Proms and Drag Brunch and our annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament, we have always tried to be true to our mantra, “Fighting for Fun in a Winey World.”

Many of you may already know that Roshambo Winery is moving out of its current facility at 3000 Westside Road in mid-January. I assure you we are not gone forever. For a year or so, during the construction of our new tasting room, we will temporarily reside in a custom RV that reflects our creative, unconventional spirit. This Roshambus will be parked just down the road on the site of our future home - 2450 Westside Road. And yes, the new tasting room will be just as stylish and daring as the old one, in design as well as content. Among the art to be permanently on display will be “junk art” by Sebastopol artist Patrick Amiot and ceramic work by Todd Barricklow of Santa Rosa. The new incarnation of Roshambo will be the same in many ways, just smaller and more manageable.

I’ll be the first to admit that we were overzealous in the sheer scope of the last facility. It put immediate pressure on us to become a 50,000+ case winery. And to be quite honest, with the birth of my beautiful baby boy Justice four years ago, I’ve reconsidered my drive to build an immediate national brand. I’d much rather create a small, intimate and meaningful experience for the people who really appreciate our passionate and free spirited approach. It’s the difference between having to sell wine and wanting to share an experience. And unlike a certain political philosophy recently popularized, I knew I didn’t want to just “stay the course.”

I’m happy to report that Roshambo Winery is still very much alive and kicking. Despite a few swirling rumors, our brand has never been on the block or bankrupt. We will continue our commitment to making excellent wines and creating an accessible wine country atmosphere. And while we will surely face some challenges during this evolution, that same irreverent soul that won the hearts of our Party Army Wine Club members and many others, is coming along for the ride. After all, Roshambo was never about the facility itself. Roshambo is all about a brazen spirit, a sea change, a new wine culture, and most importantly… You!

Thanks for your continuing support of the brand throughout the transition. I promise it will be better than ever before.

Sincerely,

Naomi Brilliant

Wine Hero

This is a ROUGH SKETCH for a story I am pitching. Like every national magazine pitch in this heartbreaking industry, it’s a loooooooong shot. But a story like this needs to be told.
**

In case you haven’t noticed, Rock, Paper, Scissors has suddenly become the new Texas Hold ‘Em. Thanks to the 3000+ members of the World RPS Society (WRPSS), and a slew of high profile news stories like the $20 million dollar bet between Christie’s and Sotheby’s - the “sport” is surging in popularity. Tournaments are popping up everywhere. Hell, there’s even a screw cap bottle of Chard and Merlot that’s named Rock, Paper, Scissors.

So one might think that the founders of the WRPSS and authors of Simon & Schuster’s “Official Rock, Paper, Scissors Strategy Guide,” Doug and Graham Walker, would be smiling all the way to the bank. But these connectors, mavens and salesmen who are largely responsible for the rise of rock, paper, scissors in today’s pop culture weren’t the ones cashing in.

Back in 2004, while working with a Hollwood producer on the Fox Sports Net’s broadcast of the their Toronto-based World RPS Championships, the Walkers unwittingly served him their master plan to bring the tournament to Las Vegas. In short order, this guy swiped their business model, repackaged it as the USARPS and sold it to Bud Light, culminating in the $50,000 U.S. Championship in Vegas this past April. “He cashed in on all the hype we had been creating for all these years,” says Doug, 34, a web consultant for a major public relations firm. In a forthcoming documentary about the Walkers and their WRPSS, the backstabbing businessman with the Bic-slick scalp virtually confesses: “I learned everything I needed to know in 10 days with them and knew how I could make a lot of money.” The man offered to cut the Walkers in on his deal, but it came with some barbed wire strings - namely a 50% claim in ownership of the WRPSS and equal say in the marketing of their brainchild.

The Walkers walked. “We didn’t want anything to do with the tacky, ‘Spring Break on Bud Light Island’ bastardization of the sport,” says Graham, a 38-year-old ad executive living in Prague. Doug agrees: “the U.S. league is whoring itself out and jumping the shark, big time.”

Of course, with Bud Light’s budget and Hollywood’s hand, the Walker’s “little art project that could” became what they most feared. A cheap, ugly marketing ploy complete with the token Playboy stamp courtesy of Brandie Roderick and the other “Girls of the USARPS.” None of this sits well with the Walkers who have dedicated the past six years of their lives, and considerable resources to the promotion of the sport. And now with another $50,000 Bud Light/USRPS Tournament set for May, they will have to get creative to keep the indy spirit of their organization alive.

The future of Rock, Paper, Scissors is anyone’s guess.

**
The Wall Street Journal’s Page One story about the dispute barely scratched the surface. Back then the Walkers were biting their tongues in the slim hope of working out some financial settlement with the USARPS League. But now that it’s clearly not going to happen, they are aren’t afraid to talk about what went wrong and how the brand they created was ripped away by the shark. In my piece, I will weave a cautionary tale of greed, intellectual property theft, and the cashing in on a kid’s game. With a colorful cast of international characters, I will paint a real, raw and vivid portrait of the sudden rise of the ancient sport… and of the dark cloud that is the USARPS League.

As a finalist in the 2003 Southwest Pro-Am RPS Tournament at Roshambo Winery, I am well positioned to write this story. For the past several years I have been tracking the rise of RPS as both a spectator and competitor. And while I was knocked out in the first round of my past three major tournaments, including the World Championship in Toronto last month, I still fashion myself as one of the sport’s elite talents. More importantly however, I have access to just about everyone who makes up the fabric of the modern day RPS movement – on both sides of the border.

**
Scott Keneally’s humor stories about such matters as his chronic bedwetting, hypersensitivity to Dove commercials, and Jessica Simpson obsession, regularly appear in Jane. When the 29-year-old Northern California writer isn’t outting the things most people keep to themselves, Scott writes treatments for some of the top directors in music videos and commercials. Oh, and he’s at least partly responsible for Paris Hilton’s infamous burger campaign and both her videos. Every so often she sends him an unintelligible Blackberry message.

Funny, huh? Unfortunately, The Onion doesn’t report the “real news.” And therefore, Naomi’s snip scissors didn’t work so well at the World Rock Paper Scissors Championship in Toronto last month. After soundly defeating some chooch on a team called “The Shockers” in the first round with a strong rock…

Naomi had to face another Shocker in the second match. Poor Naomi was up against a wall of loud, overly adrenalized guys waving their foam fingers in her face. And unfortunately, that kind of frat homefield advantage was insurmountable and her scissors were crushed.  But don’t worry, Naomi didn’t walk away from the tournament empty handed.  She proved herself to be one of the top 256 RPS players in the world.  And as World RPS founder Doug Walker says, “That’s a resume stuffer.”  So good work Naomi!

Me on the other hand, that’s a different story.  For the third major tournament in a row, I have been whipped in the first round.  I consider myself one of the top 500 players in the world, but I have a lot of work to do to join the elite competitors.