There is nothing like a wine event held in a new venue to rev my engines/salivary glands, and The Garagiste Festival Urban Exposure held inside the Wiltern theater, with the auditorium seats moved over to the side to accommodate wine tables and guests, made for a grand showcase for so many grand wines! We were…
This year’s Family Winemakers event, held at the Pasadena Convention Center, had about 70 wineries presenting their finest bottlings to an appreciative crowd of trade, media and consumer attendees. Yes, I said 70. Obviously, I couldn’t taste everything, but I think I made a pretty good dent. Here are some of my favorites… Ascension Cellars…
In Paso Robles west of Coastal Route 101, Oso Libre Winery raises cattle alongside their Rhone and Bordeaux varietals. “Free Bear” in Spanish, Oso Libre grows Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Primitivo, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel on its Adelaida region vineyards. They source a small amount of fruit from vineyard neighbors for their GSM blends. But…
There are a few events that I try to go to every year. The annual Family Winemakers of California event is one of those. I’ve written extensively in the past about the important work this organization does for the wine industry as an advocate for wineries and ultimately benefiting the consumer. The organization has been…
Last week’s article wrapped up our day in Dry Creek Valley. Before moving on to our last day in Sonoma County [finally, right?] I wanted to interrupt the regularly scheduled programming with a great event that happened recently in Los Angeles involving the Dry Creek Valley. On February 20th, 2016, the Winegrowers of Dry Creek…
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…
Last week, I wrote about my own history with Family Winemakers of California. This week’s article is about my favorite wines at this year’s tasting. I did my best to visit some of my old favorites as well as try to find some new ones. With almost 100 wineries pouring hundreds of wines, I barely…
Donelan Family Wines http://www.donelanwines.com How do you choose which winery to visit? Do you love the scenic beauty of sprawling vineyards? Or the majesty of a stunningly constructed chateau? Or, like me, have you decided that the only important thing is the wine itself? Which is why, on a Wednesday morning in Sonoma County where…
Most of us will be running around looking for that perfect Christmas gift for our loved ones right up to the last minute. But let us not forget to purchase the wines that will pair with the food we will all be enjoying over the holidays. There are some basic pairing rules to help you…
Collier Falls http://www.collierfalls.com/ A recurring theme during our recent visit to Sonoma was the early and quick harvest. Typically, with our visit happening in early October, there would have been plenty of grapes still on the vines. Not so this year. But, that didn’t make our hour-plus ATV vineyard tour with Barry Collier at Collier…
