Mike Dunne is The Sacramento Bee's former longtime restaurant critic, wine columnist and food editor. He remains engaged in the California wine scene as a judge, writer, explorer and curious observer. In his blog A Year in Wine he reports on discoveries he makes at competitions and on visits to wine regions, and offers occasional commentaries on the history, evolution, politics, trends and culture of the wine trade. 
In the latter half of the 1960s, we lived in Oregon's Willamette Valley. At that time in that place, mushrooms, blueberries and Christmas trees were the most eagerly anticipated crops of summer and fall. They're still in demand today, but a comparative...
