I had tasted a couple of wines from Charleston Peak Winery (formerly Pahrump Winery) only once, and very briefly, at a party. Fast forward to last month, when I visited the winery on assignment for City Lifestyle magazine to cover their chocolate and wine pairings – look for that in all three Las Vegas issues…
Have you heard of Saini Vineyards? We have to admit that we hadn’t until last spring when we were planning our self-made tour of historic vineyards in Sonoma County. Unfortunately, our schedule filled up quickly but we were determined to make it happen on our next visit to the area, and we did! Two of…
This private tour and wine tasting was made possible as part of the exclusive Distinctive Voyages package provided by travel advisors associated with Travel Leaders Network to their clients. During our recent nine-night Atlas cruise from Lisbon to the Canary Islands, we had the great luck to make some amazing friends that included Julie and…
You may have seen Pedroncelli wines in wine stores. Those are tasty wines but they don’t begin to tell the whole story. Those wines you see in stores might be considered their workhorse wines, allowing this fairly small family-owned historic winery property to produce about 50,000 cases per year. Much of the grapes are purchased…
Ken and Diane Wilson began acquiring land and planting vines in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley in the 1980s. They started making wine when they bought the historic Fredson Winery in 1993 with its century-old tin barn. It is now known as Wilson Winery of Dry Creek. The redwood vats were replaced by modern tanks…
A few weeks ago, at the grand re-opening of D’Agostino’s Trattoria in Las Vegas, I was introduced to Fallendown Tree Vineyards proprietor and vintner Jeanne Burmeister. It was a busy night for Jeanne as her wine table was very popular. I enjoyed their award-winning and very balanced Sangiovese, Syrah and Malbec all from Monterey County,…
After tasting some delicious white wines, we were ready for what the Dry Valley AVA is best known for – Zinfandel! Tasting room manager Eddie presented these tastes in a side-by-side format. We started with the 2023 Briar Zinfandel and the 2023 Sullivan Zinfandel, also from the Dry Creek Valley. The Briar has 9% Petite…
Today we’re reviewing an interesting organic vodka, “Made in Idaho’s Magic Valley, American Harvest is crafted from organic red winter wheat and pristine Snake River aquifer water. Its remarkable smoothness comes from a single distillation — a rare approach that preserves purity rather than masking flaws. Certified USDA Organic, non-GMO, and produced in small batches,…
I’m not a big tequila person, truth be told, but it appears I have a lot more friends into tequila than ever before. Anejo has been my choice, over Blanco and Reposado, due to the longer barrel aging. Of course, Extra Anejo is even better – for my taste. When faced with some tequila-lovers coming…
TWSC Says Their Top ‘Best of the Best’ Award Has Never Been Awarded to Two Whiskies Before TAIPEI, /PRNewswire/ — In the final round of the 2025 Tokyo Whisky and Spirits Competition (TWSC), Taiwan’s premier whisky distillery achieved the impossible, scooping not just one “Best of the Best Single Malt”, but two of the same award. Organisers said: “Due to a…
