Tag: California
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Going Native: Four California Zins that Somms Love to Drink
Zinfandel is the third most popular grape grown in California, a wine predictably offered by the glass in most restaurants and a dozen examples can be found in most grocery store aisles. But if you ask most somms to rank it among their preferred varieties, it probably would not rank in the top five. Most […]
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East of Rutherford, Chiles Valley AVA
On my last trip to Napa, I wanted to visit an AVA I had never tasted before. From Rutherford on the Napa Valley floor, my husband and I followed Highway 128 east for about 25 minutes in a narrow and winding path passing Lake Hennessey on the left (cover photo) and the Vaca Mountains on […]
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Effortless Wine Tasting: Exploring Paso Robles
Last spring a good friend of mine had a work trip to Los Angeles with one thought – make it a wine trip. Within a month we were in Paso Robles, California. Paso offers so much for the wine lover – gorgeous – and I mean – GORGEOUS views of rolling hills and historic oak […]
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Spellbound by the West Sonoma Coast
Extreme winds, sea salt air, blanketing fog, rocky cliffs, orange sunsets, and clear view stars. Vast, remote, singular. These are the words that come to mind when I think about the winemakers I met at the West of West Sonoma Coast WSC tasting in Washington, DC. Each one carried the vineyard with them; they were […]
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Jordan Winery: The Ultimate Wine Country Lifestyle
Jordan Winery, located in Alexander Valley AVA in Sonoma County, produces beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, and they deliver much more than that at their winery. With so many wine tasting options in Sonoma, Jordan Winery stands apart from the rest by offering the opportunity to experience the luxury of wine country in an afternoon. […]
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Carneros spotlight: Sonoma’s Etude Winery
Straddling both Napa and Sonoma counties, Carneros AVA grows some of the most concentrated Pinot Noirs in California. Often more voluminous in flavor than their Coastal counterparts, Carneros Pinot Noir typically has a deep berry (red cherry) flavor, hint of herb, and are made in a style that utilizes oak treatment to balance the intensity […]
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On the Edge: Pinot Noir from the West Sonoma Coast
The wines from the West Sonoma Coast are very special. They possess an elegance that is found in only the most serious Pinot Noirs from California. Their flavor profile leads with floral fruit – not overly sweet or ripe, but aromatic, delicate, and smoothly balanced with confident acid. If you explore where these wines are […]
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A Serious Wine: Napa’s Howell Mountain Cabernet
About a year ago, six of us piled into an SUV from the floor of Napa Valley in St. Helena for a half-hour climb straight up the Vaca Mountain Range, rising from the eastern side of the Valley to 1400 feet of elevation and beyond. It was 10:00 am and as we zigzagged up the […]
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Heritage Vines of California: Lodi Zin
I was fortunate to visit a very special block in California this summer- Rous Vineyard. Located in Lodi, California, this vineyard has some of the oldest Zinfandel vines in the world. Planted in 1909 in the Mokelumne River sub-AVA of Lodi, this Zinfandel has survived 108 years on sandy loam soil. With a deep network […]
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California’s Best Pinot Noir: Explore Anderson Valley
One of the aspects of California wine I enjoy the most is the variety of wine produced in the state. You can go from hot and flat AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) that produce fruit-forward deep reds to high-elevation spots with a cooler climate for growing austere white wines. For every wine lover out there, there […]