I recently spent some time with Master Sommelier, Andrew McNamara during the Court of Master Sommelier’s Introduction and Certified level exams here in Orlando, Fl. Andrew was one of ten candidates to pass this rigorous exam in 2007, Andy is also one of the very few in the court’s history to successfully complete all three…
Every few months the patio of our very own Salt Creek Grille is transformed for a wine dinner. Well-executed menus are placed in neat leather frames, misters may be soundlessly cooling a still night, seating charts are laid out, a winery representative will have been arranged to address the party and wine glasses are handed…
Happy Fourth of July – Celebrate with style and light up that grill, make your favorite burger… sip your favorite wine… but for some, which wine to pair with the plethora of grilled goodies? Let me suggest some guidelines followed by my choices of wines to pair with those delectable patties, no matter what protein…
The Henry Wine Group is a wine and spirits distributor with an excellent portfolio. Every couple of years, they give the trade and media an opportunity to taste a large sampling of their offerings. They call these events “Taste The World” and the most recent one was held on May 20th at the Beverly Hills…
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…
The tasting room at Hammersky Vineyards and Inn is currently sharing samples from their all Estate 2010 vintage: four reds, and then a second line called Naughty Princess. Right away I was wondering about that second label, and owner/wine blender Doug Hauck said that he designed the line for his dental office staff that wanted…
After reading Paso Robles Cab Collective: Wine Dining in the Beacon on 5/9, Paso Robles Cab Collective: En Primeur, Current and Reserve Tasting (also on May 9) on this website, today I have the final installment on the Cab Collective (though you can also look forward to an entire article just on HammerSky alone very…
What does one do while on a long train from Varna to Skopje? Simple, drink wine. It is unfortunate that as a linguist, I do not speak either Bulgarian or Macedonian. Elena is often quick to remind me that since I speak Ukrainian, it would not be a huge leap to learn the lingua franca…
There were more food, wine, lifestyle vendors and appreciative guests this year, in only its second time around, at Reyes Winery for the Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Festival last weekend. While VIPs were given early access and other perks, every guest seemed to be feeling the VIP treatment with unlimited access to both commercial and…
Simply Wine Festival http://simplywinefest.com/ What started as a dream fairly quickly turned into an amazing reality. Martha Peretz and her team at Great Festivals Incorporated should be congratulating themselves for putting on a practically perfect extravaganza, the Simply Wine Festival, especially considering it was their inaugural event. Start with the venue itself, the Four Seasons…