SHANE WINES I admire pretty much all people who have made the wine industry their lifework, but I have a special place in my heart for those who give up careers in other, sometime lucrative, fields to take the big jump. With an English degree from the Virginia Military Institute and the start of a…
(Paso Robles, CA) On Friday, February 5 the Paso Robles Wine Country community comes together to recognize Jason Haas of Tablas Creek Vineyard for his outstanding contributions toward the success of the Paso Robles wine industry. Jason will be honored as the 2015 Paso Robles Wine Industry Person of the Year at the Paso Robles…
It’s a great day job, that some would kill for, but take a contract on someone else, the wine has made me bulletproof. Dear Eve, The Sta. Rita Hills is best known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but there are over 20 wine grape varieties planted and produced in our AVA. We invite you to join…
The San Francisco International Wine Competition has been around since 1980, so they must be doing something right. Headed by James Beard Award winner Anthony Dias Blue and judged by somewhat of a Who’s Who of the wine world elite, this year’s event took place at Hotel Nikko in June. [Speaking of wine judges, I’m…
The first time Doug Minnick, co-founder with Stewart McLennan of the Garagiste Festivals, told me the Wiltern was going to host the latest version of the event, I was a little concerned. Were they just going to use the stage? If not, what about all the seats? Well, it turned out the seats are removable…
Last week, I wrote about my own history with Family Winemakers of California. This week’s article is about my favorite wines at this year’s tasting. I did my best to visit some of my old favorites as well as try to find some new ones. With almost 100 wineries pouring hundreds of wines, I barely…
Several years ago, long before I ever began writing about wine, I received in the mail [that was real mail back then] a letter from a winery inviting me and two guests to the annual Family Winemakers Tasting at the LAX Hilton. I did a little research and determined that this was a huge wine…
Collier Falls http://www.collierfalls.com/ A recurring theme during our recent visit to Sonoma was the early and quick harvest. Typically, with our visit happening in early October, there would have been plenty of grapes still on the vines. Not so this year. But, that didn’t make our hour-plus ATV vineyard tour with Barry Collier at Collier…
One of the first wine fests I attended as press was the LA Wine Fest. Founder Joel Fisher was very kind in extending passes and personally welcoming us at the event. Since then I’ve covered the 500+ winery/brew/spirit event in photos, as my hands are always too full with a wine glass and program to…
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…