What I’m Reading: California Wine Duo Break Up, Stoumen Gets a Tasting Room, and a New Pynchon Novel

The news never stops coming, and keeping up with everything is an impossible task. There are only so many hours in a day that one can devote to reading, and though I attempt to be on top of as much as I can, my stacks of newspapers and books are always beckoning (and expanding). There’s wine and food, of course, but there’s so much more. Here’s a look at a few things that caught my eye this week.

Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman have split. The pair worked on some great projects together — you likely have heard of Domaine de la Côte, Sandhi, and Evening Land — but almost all good things must come to an end, no? Here’s what happened, and what lies ahead for the two gentlemen. 

Martha Stoumen gets a tasting room of her own. The much-admired maker of natural wines is taking advantage of capital made available as a result of her partnership with the Overshine Collective. The space, located in downtown Healdsburg, will offer food and, of course, wine.

A buyer for Albertsons allegedly took bribes, including trips to Hawaii and luxury watches, in exchange for favorable shelf placement in stores. Patrick Briones faces charges of commercial bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The Sonoma County Wine Celebration raised $1.6M for children’s literacy initiatives. The Sonoma County Vintners Foundation sponsored the event, which took place at Cline Cellars.

Thomas Pynchon has been writing for decades, and the 88-year-old has just published his ninth novel, “Shadow Ticket.” It’s full of the author’s enthralling wordplay and fast-moving plot lines, and it’s producing a lot of buzz. I’ve added it to my reading list. Here’s Andrew Katzenstein’s look at the timely work.

Have you ever had wine with your breakfast? I have, and while it might not be advisable to do so on a daily basis, here’s a fascinating look at the practice, whose adherents included Cleopatra and Churchill.

Dame Jilly Cooper passed away this week. She was better known on the other side of the pond, but I’ve long admired her reportage and style. Here’s a piece on her that makes for good reading.

It seems that wine and fraud too often intersect. In a case involving nearly $100 million, James Wellesley, a 59-year-old British citizen, pled guilty this week in Brooklyn to wire fraud conspiracy. He and a partner lied to investors about a scheme involving high-value wine collections. Due diligence, everyone?