We’ve been fans of wines from the Rockpile AVA for a long time. There is just something about the rich balanced flavor and structure of the wines from this region, primarily Zinfandels and Petite Sirahs. But only recently have we gotten a better understanding of the history of this AVA. Located at the far west…
This past summer I was in Portugal for the second time. During both visits I searched out wines from the Alentejo DOC to drink as they are always winners for me. Fancy my thrill at being offered two wines from the area to review when we got home. I ran a news release from the…
You may recall that a couple of days before our visit to Ridge Lytton Springs, Joel Peterson of Once & Future Wines had opened a bottle for us of the Ravenswood Belloni Zinfandel from 1993. Much to our surprise, Shauna shared barrel samples with us of the 2024 Belloni Zinfandel. Quite the coincidence! Even in…
The Historic Vineyard Society recently held its tasting at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Sadly, due to the proverbial “circumstances beyond our control”, we were unable to attend the affair. Still, we want to share with you the list of participating wineries and the wines they were pouring. You may ask: Why are…
It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to taste and study wines from Portugal so I was very interested in sampling four that I‘d never had before – two whites and two reds from Herdade do Esporão – and learning all about them. Here is an excerpt from the invitation: Esporão Group Chairman…
EVORA, PORTUGAL (PRWEB) – Certification details were unveiled in August 2020. Qualifying wineries must comply with 86% or more of 171 demanding WASP criteria at the most advanced level. Areas covered are viticulture, vinification, and social responsibility, including employee well-being and benefits for the local community. Independent verification is handled by one of four certifying agencies:…
Home to 125 varieties in production, the Lodi AVA is the most diverse winegrowing region in the United States. While it is the leading producer of many top California varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, what makes the region truly distinctive are the myriad of unusual grape varieties planted here. From Alicante Bouschet to Zweigelt,…
One rare not-so-sunny day I traveled to the Mondrian Los Angeles in West Hollywood for a wine class and tasting on the Alentejo region of Portugal. My education on Portugal had been, up to this point, mostly spent on the obvious: Ports. However, as a wine writer, it’s always special to not only taste new…
Gambero Rosso is a huge name in Italian wines. They usually have walk around tastings for press, sommeliers, distributors and consumers. With Covid-19 ending all of that I had the remarkable luck to have been offered bottles from 12 wineries to review at home along with a live Master Class on Zoom. The Invitation I’m…
Michael Perlis and I are both big Zinfandel wine fans. Don’t get us wrong though, we love almost all varietals and our choices are completely dependent on what we are eating or the occasion. If the lesson is Rhones we’re there, Burgundy sometimes, Bordeaux varietals is pretty much a yes, and Zinfandel…well that just takes…