COMSTOCK WINES http://comstockwines.com/ One of the many benefits of spending a day visiting wineries with Martinelli Winery wine educator Rick Fraga is that conversations with personnel from other wineries inevitably turn to business topics, especially, in this case, harvest. [Okay, they also talk about parties, but that’s a story for another day.] By all accounts…
Clos Solene I was now ready for my final tasting at Paso Underground: the wines of Clos Solene http://www.clossolene.com/. Winemaker Guillaume Fabre came from France to Paso Robles. While building Clos Solene, which he has named after his wife, he worked as assistant winemaker at L’Aventure. He has recently left L’Aventure and is devoting himself…
Ever since its release, Dave Phinney’s Zinfandel based, “The Prisoner,” captivated the wine world. For many, it came as a surprise in 2010 when Phinney’s Orin Swift Cellars sold two of their most popular wines, Saldo and The Prisoner, to Chile’s Huneeus Vintners. According to Phinney, the sale is more of a partnership as Huneeus…
To those that know me it is no secret that I am in love with Paso Robles. Yes, I still collect wines from France and Italy but Paso is growing to become a second Napa Valley in my opinion. This area has a wide variety of wines to select from over 300 vineyards producing many…
The Rhone Rangers ride into Los Angeles on Sunday, June 23, 2013 with more than 50 wineries pouring their American-grown Rhone wines. Events include a seminar, lunch with the winemakers and a walk-around tasting reception. ANCO Fine Cheese will be providing samples of their imported cheese. The Heirloom LA food truck, famous for their lasagna…
Idell Family Vineyards http://idellfamilyvineyards.com Sonoma Wine Country Weekend is held annually over Labor Day Weekend. And while the main event is on Saturday, there are festivities happening all over Sonoma County that weekend – winery dinners, barbeques, etc. I will write more about the festival and its mission in my next article, but right now…
The day before I left the U.S. to chaperone my daughter’s show choir at the Olympics, I signed up for my friend Denise Lowe’s Spanish Wine Tasting Class. I’ve interviewed Denise many times about her work as a wine educator and festival sommelier, but never attended one of her educational tasting classes. Below are the…
And Sunday morning pretty much started as Saturday had ended. Stillman Brown, owner of Zeppelin Winery, texted me at 7 AM to let me know that he was on his way with the Colossus Syrah I had purchased from him previously, as well as some new wines he wanted us to taste. So at 8:30…
Our next stop was Turley Wine Cellars, where they were presenting a blending seminar. The panelists were National Sales Manager Christina Turley, Winemaker Karl Wicka and Vineyard Manager Brennan Stover, and the topic was how the various blocks of the Pesenti Vineyard in Paso Robles are blended together. The Pesenti Vineyard was originally planted over…