Some of the wineries, winemakers, and topics we have covered over the years often find their way as links on other wine sites. We decided to include some as a way to pay tribute to the wines and people who who have shaped the wine industry.

A Christmas Card from the Vine
by Tim Hayes & John Koetzner

Holidays such as Christmas often remind us how fortunate we are to be surrounded by the ones we love and it is also when we catch up with telling our friends how precious they are to us. Even though we each have more than twenty years in the wine business, we continue to make friends with folks who have a common bond in agriculture and the wine industry.
Now that we have completed our second year doing "Wine Tributaries," we would like to thank some of the people who have helped us along in our wine education over the years. More importantly, we want to thank the numerous readers who give us some feedback about what we are doing as we shop in town or when we are out and about covering a story. You remind us what is special about Sonoma County.

So here we go. We need to thank Rich Thomas, who taught us several decades ago at Santa Rosa Junior College and who has admitted us to the ranks of judges for the amateur division at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Another longtime influence who deserves our thanks is Joe Vercelli, who taught us not only how to evaluate wine, but to have a romance with it, back when we were practically kids at Souverain.

Other people who have made it possible for us to keep you informed about our local wine industry include winemakers we were able to interview and with whom we have had the opportunity to taste wines with over the past couple years. Some of these folks include Zelma Long, Dave Rafanelli, Shelly Rafanelli, Kristi Koford, Ed Killian, Dave Demostene, Steve Sommer, Forrest Tancer, Bill Myers, Julia Iantosca, David Coffaro, Ted Seghesio, Mike Loykasek, and a host of others. They provided us with barrel samples do to advance tastings of the barrel weekend.

Another important inspiration has been Millie Howie, for establishing herself with the Tribune for all the years that she wrote the wine column for which we now carry the torch. We also want to thank Bev and Tom Reeves at the Tribune for recognizing the need for ongoing wine coverage at a local level.

Numerous winery associations have invited us to participate in events that have given us material that leads to columns also. There is the Sonoma County Wineries Association that is responsible for the annual Sonoma County Showcase of Food & Wine. Of course one of the biggest supporters has been the local Russian River Wine Road Association and its participating wineries. Then, there are the smaller more localized associations such as the Alexander Valley Winegrowers, Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, and the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association that have also supported our efforts to keep you informed of winery events and issues.

It was the proceeds from the first showcase and auction (started by the Healdsburg Kiwanis Club) that started the funding for our own Sonoma County Wine Library. It is located in the Healdsburg branch of our public library. Both the library and Wine Librarian Bo Simons are a local link to the pulse of the wine industry in Sonoma County.

If it were not for our local wineries and especially the Russian River Wine Road association we would have little to talk about and less to review in our columns. A special thank you goes out to each of these wineries that have sent us wine samples to review and talk about. We are proud to tout and taste the quality of the world class wines that you produce.

Our special thanks to Jackie Wilferd of Wines.com who continues to keep us posted with the latest wine news and reviews, and who moved us to her online wine site after the passing of Jerry Mead.

This is our Christmas card from the vine. Thanks for all the years of inspiration.