Home

Michael Cervin

Michael Cervin's picture
ContactAdd to BuddiesPrivate Message

Michael Cervin writes about wine, food, art, architecture and travel for national and regional magazines including Decanter, Wine Enthusiast, Wine & Spirits, The Tasting Panel, Skywest, Westways and many others. He currently writes three wine columns and is the restaurant critic for the Santa Barbara News-Press. He judges at wine competitions such as the Northwest Wine Summit, the Monterey Wine Competition, the Central Coast Wine Challange; the Santa Barbara, El Dorado, Amador and Ventura County Fairs and others. Michael also writes a wine, food and travel blog detailing his extensive travels in the States and abroad: "Cervin It Straight: No ratings, no hype, just straight talk about wine, food and travel." http://www.CervinItStraight.com. In addition to his extensive articles, he has had four of his plays produced in Los Angeles, and his poetry has been read on National Public Radio. His first book, "Generous Fiction" is widely available. His new Moon travel book, "Santa Barbara & The Central Coast" will be in bookstores nationwide in September, 2010. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife. To see more of his work visit www.michaelcervin.com.

Michael Cervin Thinks:

A fair restaurant corkage fee is: 

$10

A tell-tale sign of a wine snob is: 

A loudmouth who wears too much cologne, brags about how much a bottle costs, disregards other people's opinion and chews mint gum while drinking cabernet.

The wine region I most want to visit: 

Any place they make the stuff!

My "wish list" of wines I want to acquire soon: 

My wish list is what I'm currently drinking. Wine evolves and changes and each vintage is something new, so, even if you acquired a case of something, it will be different in six months.

My biggest wine pet peeve: 

It's an expensive hobby! It's loaded with calories and I've ruined a lot of shirts, one pair of pants and have stained my couch.

My favorite wine quote: 

Wine is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

My dream wine to one day taste or own: 

Screaming Eagle, Petrus, and eventually my own wine.

The best wines I have ever tasted: 

Geeze, far too many to count. But what started it off for me was an Eberle Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, from Eberle Winery in Paso Robles.

The people with whom I most often enjoy wine: 

My wife and most of my friends. My cats prefer beer.

The last wine I had that I absolutely loved: 

Every week I'm fortunate to have fantastic wines at a variety of price points. Recent greats have been the 2006 Savant from Justin Winery in Paso Robles, and Inniskillen Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from Canada.

What I think of the movie Sideways: 

The movie was filmed in my back yard, Santa Barbara. I love the fact that the film has generated so much interest in this region, and encouraged so many people to try wine.

My thoughts on the 100 point rating scale made famous by Robert Parker and emulated by seemingly everyone: 

I admire what Parker has been able to do and frankly, I'd love to have his job. Any rating scale is merely a tool of one person's taste. Take it or leave it.

My wine travels have taken me to the following wine regions: 

All of California (including Temecula and the oft over looked Sierra Foothills), Oregon, Mexico, Germany, Virginia, France, Canada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Idaho, Burgundy, Switzerland and Pennsylvania.

Contributions

Title Categories Publishedsort icon
Verdejo - Spain’s Signature White Grape Rueda, Spain, Wine Culture, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels 07/22/2010
The Earth Day Food & Wine Festival - Paso Robles Central Coast, Wine Culture 06/25/2010
Wine Charities: For the Love of Wine Sonoma County, Washington, Wine Culture, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels 02/03/2010
Richmond Wineries: The Central Virginia Vineyards That Make a Compelling American Wine Region Virginia, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels 12/30/2009
Oh Canada: Mission Hill Winery--The North's Rising Star Canada, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels 09/24/2009
Veramar Winery: Full Circle in Virginia Virginia, Wine Culture, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels, Wine Travel 09/07/2009
Okanagan Valley: Canada’s Best Wine Region? Canada, Wine Culture, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels, Wine Travel 06/22/2009
Rhinehessen: The Mineral Soils of Germany's Wine Country Germany, Wine Culture, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels, Wine Travel 04/06/2009
Hillsborough Winery: A Virginia Wine Profile Virginia, Wine Business, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels 03/18/2009
Pennsylvania Wines: Adding the Numbers at Winfield Winery Pennsylvania, United States, Wine Business, Wine Culture, Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels 02/06/2009

Michael Cervin's Wine Cellar

This person has not yet added any wines to their cellar.

Michael Cervin's Tasting Notes

This person has not added any tasting notes.

Private Messages

Buddies

This person does not yet have any buddies.

Public Messages

Comments

By submitting this form, you accept the Mollom privacy policy.
view counter