The day after Garagiste 2022 Paso Robles, we spent a pleasant afternoon with Roger Nicolas, proprietor of RN Estate Vineyard. After a lot of tasting and quite a bit of conversation, we brought home a...
All the chardonnays we tasted were very good. We thought Torch Cellars was the best, but the decision was awfully close. We were greeted by winemaker Mark Welch and his pal Alya. Along with owner...
Give this one some time to open up. Decant if you’re impatient. On the nose dense black fruit with a hint of forest floor. On the palate milder than you would expect from the aroma. But still black...
We drank this for Thanksgiving. The Patz and Hall 2017 Sonoma Coast pinot noir ($48) is excellent. We’re usually reluctant to recommend a blend from an AVA. But Sonoma Coast is home to some...
Yes, you read that correctly. Siduri has released a chardonnay. Grapes are from Willamette Valley. It’s pretty good and, as we expect from these folks, interesting. White flowers, orange blossom...
Siduri and the Loring Wine Company both make superb pinot noirs. And now they are running two post holiday sales worth your time and money. Siduri routinely has a post-holiday warehouse clearance...
Belden Barns is hosting a series of virtual wine tastings starting at the end of March. Here’s the idea. You order wine from them. Then you participate in the virtual tasting via Zoom. But...
We’ve written about these folks quite a bit over the years. About a week ago we got our wine club shipment. The pinots can wait but the lure of the Belden Barns 2017 sauvigvnon blanc ($26)...
Our friends at Artisan Wine Depot invited us to a special food and champagne pairing on September 19. The champagne was from Piper-Heidsieck with their local expert and evangelist Kyle Kaplan. Food...
Dilecta was one of our discoveries on our trip to Paso Robles in January. Following the recommendation of Wills and Kath Carter (proprietors and hosts at the fabulous Canyon Villa), we visited the...
“Like a French Rhône, only good!” were the first words out of my mouth. The Tablas Creek 2012 Esprit de Tablas opens with aromas of smoke, leather, and black cherries. The palate is...
Rummaging in our Eurocave I ran across this goodie. It’s been a while since we visited Dante Robere, one of the best wineries in the Livermore Valley. The Dante Robere 2012 Reserve Syrah was...
When William and Katherine invited us to spend two nights at The Canyon Villa, we jumped at the chance. As always, the food, friendship, and accommodations were superb. We got January off to a good...
Williamson Wines was the top new find on our trip to Sonoma. After a few wines, co-founder Dawn Williamson joined us at the table for a lively conversation. Along with her husband Bill they provide a...
We met my brother Tom and his wife Ginger in Windsor for three days of wine-tasting and conversation. This is the overview of our three days in Sonoma County. We discovered a really good winery that...