When I started writing this series of articles about the lighter wines Karen and I have been drinking recently, I hadn’t really thought that so many of them would be from Paso Robles. After all, Paso’s reputation [at least in my mind] is for big delicious Reds, and there certainly are a lot of those…
I’ve written about Stillman Brown and the wines he makes somewhere in Paso Robles often enough over the last several years that people might think I owe him something. All I really owe him is a thank you for his delicious wines as well as for his witty emails. Karen and I have really enjoyed…
A grand tasting showcasing the Wines and Spirits of The Henry Wine Group. Over 300 producers from around the world…the owners…people behind the scenes… This is not the first time I’ve been to the grand Taste of the World event put on by the Henry Wine Group. I got wind of it a few years…
The last time Karen and I visited Vintners Resort in Santa Rosa was in 2019. At that time, the additions of the modern luxury suites and rooms and amenities such as the new spa and pool were in place and the transition from Vintners Inn to Resort was complete. My plan was to write about…
When I first started drinking wine and decided to spend the time and money for further education and certification, I didn’t think about studying spirits as well. However, the course I wanted offered by WSET at the time, included both. (WSET stand for Wine and Spirits Education Trust. In the last few years they have…
I’ve written about the Historic Vineyard Society various times over the years. This organization is near and dear to my heart, dedicated to the preservation of California’s historic vineyards, so many of which have been lost to development or replanted to grapes that are currently in vogue and therefore more profitable. Karen and I have…
The Rhone Rangers rode into the Skirball last weekend and as a major Rhone wine lover I was thrilled to attend the tasting again. A seminar and luncheon was also offered in the day’s events, see an upcoming article from Contributing Editor Michael Perlis as he covered that portion. Wine 101ers: What is a Rhône…
Saturday, July 21st was a great day that ended on a very sad note. Karen and I had a wonderful time at the latest incarnation of The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure in Santa Monica and followed that with an early dinner at one of our new favorite restaurants, Lunetta, also in Santa Monica. By the…
You may ask…why does Zinfandel need to be “elevated”? It wasn’t that long ago that Zinfandel was thought of either as a sweet pink wine made for mass consumption or as a highly alcoholic monster meant to get you where you want to go as quickly as possible. Neither version was taken very seriously. But…