Randy Caparoso

Picking crew leader in old vine Mokelumne River-Lodi vineyard over 110 years old. Besides skill, there is a certain amount of brute strength, or at least a mental toughness, required to pick wine grapes. Otherwise, anybody could do it, when in fact not everyone is willing to do it, or even capable of doing it. It’s too damned hard. Old vine Zinfandel picker, Mokelumne River-Lodi aVA. Take your typical tote tub, or stackable plastic lug box, used for hand picking.

The Sky High block—the 2,000-ft. elevation summit of ROWEN’s Cooley Ranch Vineyard—planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec—against the backdrop of the surrounding coastal mountains and the Lake Sonoma watershed. The original text of my article on ROWEN Wine Company published in the August/September issue of The SOMM Journal.

Kamaʻāina (“children of the land”) at Waiahole Poi Factory, on the Windward side of the island of O’ahu, standing in line for their local style culinary delicacies. Hawai’i is in my soul because I was born and raised there; lived in the Islands for 42 years before moving to California in 1999. Now whenever I go back, which is never enough times, I explore my home state with the enthusiasm of both a native and a tourist.