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Each post on this page represents a chapter in my prospective book on “Culinary Approach to Wine In Restaurants.”

While I go through the process of polishing and editing, I invite you to walk this journey beside me: A record of nearly three decades devoted to not just restaurant wine management, but also all the ways wine can be employed to make a difference to your guests, your community, the nation, the world, your business, and yourself.

I encourage you to subscribe to get full access to this ongoing saga as well as publication archives.

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Be part of a community of like mind, who think wine should be appreciated sensibly, without the bull. Participate in the comments section, or support this work with a subscription, free or paid.

Who am I?

I’m old enough to collect social security but my brain still functions like a 25-year-old (still learning!).

I currently put bread (and wine) on the table as a wine journalist and photographer living in Lodi, California. I have one book under my belt, called Lodi! The Definitive Guide and History of America's Largest Winegrowing Region (2022).

I worked full-time in the restaurant industry between 1974 and 2002, taking my first job as a sommelier in 1978. I still keep tabs on the restaurant industry as Editor-at-Large/Bottom Line columnist for The SOMM Journal (since 2008), although my main gig is doing online blogs and social media posts for the Lodi Winegrape Commission (lodiwine.com). In the latter capacity, I was recently named a 2024 Old Vine Hero for Communications by the UK-based Old Vine Conference.

Prior to that I served as founding partner, vice president and corporate wine director of the James Beard Award winning Roy's family of restaurants. While at Roy’s, I was honored as Santé’s first Wine & Spirits Professional of the Year (1998) and Restaurant Wine’s Wine Marketer of the Year (1992 and 1998). For over 20 years, I also bylined a biweekly wine column for my hometown newspaper, The Honolulu Advertiser (1981-2002).

I can be reached at randy@caparoso.com. My door is always open.

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