Law Estate Wines www.lawestatewines.com I give all props to my wife Karen on introducing me to Law Estate Wines We were attending the Ojai Wine Festival in 2013 and Karen had just come back from the VIP Tent. “You have to try Law”, she said. “They’re wines are really good.” She was right. They were…
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…
The first stop of the day isn’t always the best, but at Rocca Family Vineyards it proved to be. Though we (traveling with pal Claudia Sheridan) thought we may have taken a wrong turn as the quaint home didn’t have a tasting room sign, it was the right address and once through the front doors…
For a long time, I’ve focused on whether a wine provides me with a pure and clean expression of fruit. But now along comes Abe Schoener, winemaker and owner of the Scholium Project (http://scholiumwines.com/), and changes all of that. Recently, we had the pleasure to attend a barrel tasting of Scholium Project wines, led by…
After visiting the Old Kraft and Library vineyards, we headed over to the Hayne Vineyard. Planted a little later than the first two, the Hayne Vineyard produces some of the finest Zinfandels and Petite Syrahs in California. The Zinfandel was planted in the early 1900s and the Petite Syrah in the 1950s. Not many get…
How do you decide on the wines you buy on a regular basis, whether through clubs, allocation lists, or just at your favorite wine merchant? After all, we are truly blessed with the number of wine selections we have and there are literally hundreds, actually thousands, of excellent wines available. For me, assuming of course…
Each year around this time I think about how I want to stock up my little wine collection with the wines that will amaze… no … astound any guests that visit throughout the “dog days of summer.” This year is no exception… except I’ll keep it simple. I want to get back to the basics…
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…
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…