It’s been a year since we’ve been in this COVID mess and I’m sure like me, you’ve all had brains on fire. That’s why I wanted to package up some of the pieces that ran in the TFL over the past few months that you might have missed or should really reread. Salinity, prized in wine, sure, but should it always be? Winemaker and regenerative viticulture diva, Mimi Casteel shared her wisdom with me. Dinkinish O’Connor penned a must-read, eloquent piece on racism and the slave trade in Bordeaux. Aaron Ayscough mused over the lessons that can be learned from the late Jules Chauvet, and Yulia Ezhikova reported on a new horizon in Japan. Welcome to “The Thought Issue.”