I was so excited about visiting winemaker Mitch Cosentino at his new tasting room! I’ve tasted his wines every year for the past few years here in Santa Clarita but had never visited him. And his new label, PureCru, has a new perfect pairing: a wine tasting bar (which means it’s open at night too)…
Members of the Paso Robles CAB Collective (PRCC), an association of Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietal producers in the Paso Robles AVA, recently joined fellow vintners and growers across California in praising the virtues of the 2013 harvest. At the top of the list are an early start to the growing season, long hang-time and near-absence of…
I took a very informative class led by Sake Samurai Timothy Sullivan just before a large Discover Sake LA tasting event recently. Sullivan promised to give us the strong points of selling and enjoying Sake in stores and restaurants, and how to make it more understandable to the consumer and profitable for the sellers. Sullivan’s…
Today I am joined by friend and fellow sommelier, Ivelisse Negroni. We are in the small historical town of Samur in the French region of Pays de la Loire. This area is renown for its chateaus and of course, their wine. From our patio table, we have a lovely view of the plaza square. We…
I love the north of Spain and have been visiting the city of Bilbao and the surrounding beaches of San Sebastian for some twenty years. My frequent haunts include Concha Bay, and the golden sands beaches of Zarautz and Fuenterrabia. Today I am joined by long-time friend and fellow sommelier, Naiara Dolagaray. We are enjoying…
Gary Warburton was one of the first winemakers I met when I began my journey from tasting wine to writing about it. Back then, circa my “unenlightened” dark ages, Gary was making wine in his Manhattan Beach home aptly called Chateau Pacific. I met Gary and his daughter-in-law Suzanne Phifer Pavitt at Julie Brosterman’s (Women…
We got up early, Terry, CJ, Scott (two of our sons) and I. We piled into Terry’s minivan and drove out to what has been variously described as Saugus, Acton or Agua Dulce. Most of us know it as Le Chene.buy strattera online https://medstaff.englewoodhealth.org/wp-content/languages/new/withoutprescription/strattera.html no prescription We got to a 5-acre vineyard near the home…
Prior to coming to Paso Robles, a couple of my friends that are regulars to the area introduced me to wines from a new winery called Daou. I was very impressed with the quality of the wines from this new winery. So continuing our Paso Robles adventure Tracy and I decided to stop at the…
After months of knowing that Pulchella winemakers Nate Hasper and Steve Lemley had built the first crush pad in Santa Clarita, and not being able to release the news, I was chomping at the bit to get in there and check it out. It finally happened. I got all of my questions answered, and then…
During our last meeting of Grape of the Night (GOTN) in September 2012 the group tasted and learned about a wine called Gamay Beaujolais. One of the points that I commented on was about a different fermentation process used in the Gamay region of France called carbonic fermentation. This process creates wines that have fruity…