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Roper's secrets are safe with me (at least for the time being), but mention of wine and Ascent reminds me of our editorial meetings for the first two issues (before I decamped to north-eastern California in search of a salary). At the time, Davis Bynam, who made the Incubus Hills wine, had a little shop on San Pablo and was at the blending and bottling stage of his career. He produced a nice sherry, much more than merely drinkable, and sold it in gallon jugs for a very reasonable price, so that became the refreshment of choice at our editorial meetings at Steck's house. We kept forgetting that it was sherry and drank it like it was Chardonay. Fortunately, I lived downhill from Steck and could roll home at the end of an evening. Roper lived up on a ridge, so I don't know how he made it. It amazes me that the quality of Ascent was so high. Later Bynum started selling future shares on wine he produced from grapes himself, and that was the Incubus Hills. It was very good, especially for the price. One day Allen and Steve and a few others and I drank a bottle and left it on top of what became Bynum Spire at Pinnacles. The last time I was there the bottle was gone, probably taken by the same scoundrel who filched Salathe's date can from the Narrows of Sentinel. A few years ago, I found a bottle of Bynum wine on a menu at one of the better restaurants in New York, and although the price was more than double what I usually pay for wine, I had to have it. It was worth every penny, and I even let my wife have a glass. I don't know if Davis is still alive, but he had a beautiful winery up Sonoma/Napa way.
