This morning Naomi woke up to a pleasant surprise when the Press Democrat landed on her lap. On the front page of the Food & Wine section was an incredibly well written and in depth feature about her plans for Roshambo 2.0. It wasn’t a surprise that the story came out, only that it was soooo overwhelmingly positive, that the writer got it right. “Reports of Roshambo’s death have been greatly exaggerated,” reads opening line. And as Naomi’s eyes scanned the rest of Virginie Boone’s piece, her face was lit with a smile that was bright enough to power all of Sonoma County. It’s one of the best stories she’s ever read about herself or the winery. And if you click here (and sign in, anoooooying) you can see why.

Muchos gracias to Marcia Simmons of The North Bay Business Journal for running a great page one feature about Roshambo 2.0. We thought the story was fair and accurate and we love how it turned out.

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?

I swear I’m not peeing here. I’m MODELING. Okaaaaay?

My expose’ about medical marijuana’s legal loophole can be found in the Jan/Feb issue of DETAILS magazine. In the words of one of the growers I interviewed, “It’s the new California Gold Rush.” And the statistics back it up. Shockingly, in the Golden State weed accounts for $13.8 billion dollars in annual sales - roughly double the totals of grapes and veggies combined. Makes me think Roshambo in the wrong industry altogether!

If you are interested in reading more I’ve posted a link to the story on my website. I have also posted the full, unedited version before the powers that be carved 500 words from it. With such a drastic makeunder, I feel the story lost some of my “voice,” as well as the part where I confess to lying to a pot doc enroute to becoming a card carrying member. But hey, after approximately 2500 unsuccessful pitches to that magazine, I’m just happy to have finally landed a feature.

Oh, and for all of you who missed the October 2003 issue of DETAILS in which Roshambo Winery was featured, I’ll leave you with one of the most astute observations I’ve ever read about our Wine Hero. It was written by their absurdely gifted and talented editor-at-large, Jeff Gordinier: “Slim and sarcastic, with the kind of graceful morbidity you might find in a Tim Burton movie princess, Naomi has a feather tattoo on the back of her left leg and a dragonfly on the back of her right.” That is so spot on.

Come on down to Roshambo this weekend to take a peek at the Roshambus. It’s kind of like Steve Jobs’ unveiling of the new iPhone at MacWorld, only much cooler. In fact, we are holding a raffle this weekend for a chance to spend a day wine tasting on the bus with us. So as Bob Barker says, “Come on down!” Drop off your business card and we’ll announce the winner on the blog on Sunday night. (Well, maybe Monday depending on how Sunday night goes!)

UPDATE: Arianna Bennett has WON the raffle.  And so she and a few friends will go on a wine tasting tour this spring on the Roshambus.  However, for all you raffle losers out there, don’t worry because Arianna has yet to respond to my congratulatory letter.  “So you’re telling me there’s still a chance.”  - Lloyd Christmas, Dumb and Dumber

It’s hard to imagine that you haven’t heard of Michelle Wie by now. Even if you aren’t too keen on televised golf or anything having to do with penalties and handicaps and sand traps and the kind of infuriating frustration that makes you wing your $375 Big Bertha driver into the pond, you probably know her face. At the very least, thanks to a cool $10 million in endorsements last year, the teeny Wie-ny golf sensation is wedged somewhere in the double helix of our collective buy-now! gene. Even though I love golf and yelling “Fore!” and the donuts that the cart make on steep wet fairways, I don’t follow the PGA let alone the LPGA. So I haven’t thought much about Michelle Wie one way or another over the past several years that she’s spent competing in men’s tournaments. Until yesterday, that is, when I was trolling ESPN.com to avoid the boredom of my blank screen. I caught an interesting verbal volley about Wie and other related columns that got me turning about the similarities between her narrative arc and ours.

Our Wine and Golf Heroes seem to have some things in common. Not just because “they are both brazen Asians!” (in the words of one tactless friend of mine with a rhyming disorder), but because they are young female mavericks who are fist-fighting convention. Both fearlessly dove into worlds in which they stuck out like, well, like teenage girls on the professional men’s circuit. But most importantly, both Michelle and Naomi are poised to make and embrace a major gearshift in dreams. Wie will likely enroll in Stanford in the fall and Naomi is creating the curriculum for Roshambo 2.0. Ultimately, their stories are worth following because as Gonzo noted, “Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of ‘the rate race’ is not yet final.”

Sorry I’ve been remiss in updating this blog over the holidays. But we’ve been on a trans-Atlantic adventure and let’s just say Africa doesn’t have too many wireless hotspots. Yup… Africa. A few of us flew to Ghana for Christmas and then to Cape Town to ring in the New Year. I won’t bore you with too many details, just a few photos.

Justice (of our Justice Syrah fame) had fun flying through the air.

Naomi got her kicks feeding the monkeys in a sanctuary in Ghana.

And me… I spent a couple of hours in a cage within a severed-arm’s reach of Great White sharks.  Here’s the seal decoy that kept the sharks interested in my neck of the Indian Ocean.

Now that we’re back, you can expect more fresh content from your Roshamblogger. So keep checking in and of course, share your Roshambo stories with me or the comments page. We love hearing from you! Happy holidays.