A Triple Itinerary of Understanding the Wine, Land & History of Tuscany While Experiencing the Unparalleled Beauty of an Outdoor Excursion TUSCANY WINE and BIKE (TWB) announced their new 2014 Wine Tasting & Culinary Biking Tour Itineraries effective April 26, 2014 through September 27, 2014. Led by local freelance oenologist and Winemaker Carlo Travagli and…
Family Winemakers of California http://familywinemakers.org (FWC) is an organization dedicated to preserving the diversity of California wine and supporting family owned wineries. Anyone who produces wine commercially or who grows wine grapes can join, although membership is dominated by wineries with an annual production of less than 5,000 cases. These small wineries also get a…
This week I queried some wine experts on their favorite wine, and what they were doing when they first had it. Their answers made me more than a wee bit thirsty. Years ago, on what used to be a favorite spring outing – to the Amador Vintners Festival – we were referred to the Fiddletown…
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…
In November of 2012, George Washington’s fabled Mt. Vernon Distillery was reopened. Today a meticulous recipe of the popular 1799 blend by our first president, is taking the rye whiskey market by storm. I have it on good authority that the president’s whiskey was not only the rage of the day, it made Mr. Washington…
In this, maybe my sixth visit to Del Dotto, I knew winemaker Gerard Zanzonico had a plane to catch so I suggested we skip the barrel tasting and limit ourselves to whatever he had in bottle. So what did he do? He pulled barrel tastings and put them in bottles for us to taste. The…
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)…
Admittedly, my wine knowledge is pretty focused on California. So, when I get an opportunity to add to knowledge outside of my primary area of expertise, especially when it is in a great environment, I do my best to jump at that. The Kobrand Tour d’Italia 2013 wrapped up its eight-city tour at the Hotel…