dessert wine
Rockin’ and Rollin’ with the Garagistes at the Wiltern
The first time Doug Minnick, co-founder with Stewart McLennan of the Garagiste Festivals, told me the Wiltern was going to host the latest version of the event, I was a little concerned. Were they just going to use the stage? If not, what about all the seats? Well, it turned out the seats are removable…
Judging 101: The Long Beach Grand Cru AND THE WINNING WINE LIST
I was a little fretful…panicked is actually the right word, about judging the Long Beach Grand Cru for two days after only serving as a guest judge in the LA Wine Competition two years ago…once. I recognized the names of some of the judges, and personally knew quite a few, but I thought I better…
The Remarkable Wines of the 2015 Chardonnay Symposium
“This will probably be 2015’s most exciting wine event featuring the world’s most popular wine. TCS was started about six years ago by the Santa Maria AVA folks, featuring local notables like Jim Clendenen, Adam Tolmach, Jonathan Nagy… It was basically a couple simultaneous panels with a Grand Tasting afterward. Over the years it attracted…
Eve Wine 101: Your First Time Tasting
An athletic instructor who had never had wine in her life but was willing to try, was faced with a dilemma recently when she attended a holiday party. Her host prompted her to select a wine that she already liked. When she explained she’d never had any, she was told to just pick whatever looks…
Vintage Beacon 11/09: Who to Serve on the Holidays
In the spirit of the holidays this week’s column will tackle such questions put forth as: Is it truly fair to pour the Good wine to those that know and the Bad to those that don’t? Which category does Nouveau Beaujolais appear in? And, finally, how can you get through the holidays without taking the…
The Beauty of Paso Robles – Destination J Dusi Vineyard, by Rusty Sly
One vineyard that has been in Paso Robles since the early 1900’s is Dusi Vineyard. Dusi Vineyard was started by Italian immigrants Sylvester and Caterina Dusi. They had three sons Guido, Dante and Benito. During these early years, Dusi Vineyards sourced their grapes rather than producing their own wines. The primary grape varietal that was,…
Trefethen Pairs With: Santa Clarita Diners (Vintage Beacon Circa 9/09)
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…
Traversing the SCV Wine Classic (Vintage Beacon Circa 06/09)
The SCV Wine Class held last Saturday night, has set the standard for local wine tasting events for over 20 years, expertly welcoming both new release and vintage wines as they do new wine drinkers and vintage experts. In helping to raise needed funds for the Student Orchestras at College of the Canyons the…
Macedonian Wine Renaissance, Part One
Dating back to antiquity, most of what is now the Republic of Macedonia was known as the Kingdom of Paeonia. The peoples who inhabited these lands were primarily of Thracian stock. In 356 BCE, Phillip ll of Macedon took control of Paeonia. Under his reign, King Phillip not only brought in Greek culture, the tradition…