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…
An interesting thing that happens at large wine events: camaraderie grows as wines are consumed, people tend to become chattier and want to share their discoveries of the day. So instead of just keeping track of what I was digging at the Family Winemakers Pasadena tasting, I listened to the buzz coming from Santa Clarita…
Living in Europe, I am often inundated with questions concerning the California wine scene. After all, we do have the reputation of abounding with new and innovative ideas for wines. In fact, when my stateside friends come for a visit, they are expected to pay tribute to this self-proclaimed Caesar. My friends are quick to…
DAOU Vineyards was next on our list of wineries that I had selected for Jordan and Natasha Siperstein. The DAOU staff welcomed us, as they do all of their guests, with open arms. Lisa Colwell (Assistant Tasting Room Manager) introduced herself and led us to a beautiful private tasting room that was set for a king. …
Last week a much-needed rain storm pummeled Santa Clarita, but the day of the much-anticipated Opolo Wine Pairing Dinner at Salt Creek Valencia, it was a beautiful day. And the patio at Salt Creek screams out for events! Perfect for a group of, I don’t know, maybe 60, to mingle, hear a speaker, have their…
I’m an Aniston fan ever since the days of the uber-popular TV show “Friends” so I felt sorry for Jennifer when her marriage to Brad Pitt broke up so publicly. But the buck stopped there, so to speak, or so I thought until Pitt and Angelina Jolie decided to make wine together. I admit it:…
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…
Instead of attending as media during the day, this time I opted to dress up, bring my hubby, and see what it’s like to attend http://www.LearnAboutWine.com’s STARS of Santa Barbara wine tasting event at night, like normal people. I quickly discovered that the crowd didn’t walk around with notepads or cameras, so I easily got…
THE INVITE: Long before Sideways, LearnAboutWine was telling their audience that Santa Barbara winemakers are producing some of the best wines in the world. We invite the “Best of the Best”, “the brand standards” and “the newest and most up and coming” to our participate in the 10th Annual STARS of Santa Barbara at the…
2013 was a lot of fun for me in the world of wine, and there is much to look forward to in 2014. The year was full of events. Two of my favorites were: Family Winemakers of California did not have their annual trade/media tasting event in Pasadena last year. Instead, they expanded their event…