I was recently offered four wines for review – all of which I had never sampled before. Because of this I jumped at the chance to try a new-to-me Malbec blend from Argentina, two non-vintage Champagnes from France and a Cream Sherry from Spain. I received the technical sheets and some information on each winery,…
Our wine journey would probably have been a lot different if we hadn’t wandered into a certain modest storefront winery tasting room in downtown Los Olivos back in the mid-1990s. Yes, we had already discovered California Rhone wines with a bottle of Le Cigare Volant from Bonny Doon Vineyards that we had purchased at a…
All I knew about Moraga Bel Air wines is that they were founded in 1989 and that the vineyards are indeed in Bel Air, California. When they offered to send me one of their whites and a red, and join in on a Zoom meeting with their new winemaker Paul Warson, it was a great…
Just received two new-to-me wines for review from new-to-me wineries. A white from Girasole and a red from Barra, both hailing from Mendocino County. And though Mendocino County wines are not new-to-me, I admit not to be totally familiar with the terroir or its wines. So this was a treat! Girasole Vineyards 2021 Pinot Blanc,…
Yatir Winery Launches a New Independent Brand That Comes Straight from The Israeli Desert Wine RegionNew York, NY/Israel – If Israel is “the land of milk and honey,” the Negev (desert) region should rightly be called “the land of milk, honey, and wine.” Many people don’t know that wine grapes were grown in the southern…
When we decided it was time to visit wine country again, selecting the region was pretty easy. Paso Robles has long been a favorite of ours, going back to the 1980s[!]. Deciding who to visit was a little tougher – there are a lot of people who we consider friends in Paso and many of…
Been a long time since I’ve had a Gamay wine from Beaujolais, France. Not to be confused with Nouveau Beaujolais, its younger sister that is presented every November fresh from bottling, this particular Gamay had some aging (see the tech notes below). I knew it would be red fruit on the nose and palate –…
I’m a sucker for Rosé wine, especially when the temperatures go up and the days are longer. It’s almost like an aperitif to have before dinner for us, on the front porch, as we watch our neighbors slowly filter by walking their dogs or walking themselves. So, this week, now that I’ve got you in…
ENCINO, Calif./PRNewswire/ — With the Holidays around the corner, Gelson’s is uncorking four new bottlings in its exclusive branded collection of Gelson’s Wines, all produced through its ongoing collaboration with one of their winemakers, Julien Fayard who was named 2016 “Winemaker of the Year” by Wine Spectrum. The four stellar wines will be available at…
Finishing off our trip to Lompoc we had our last two tasting appointments, to Ampelos Cellars and to Zotovich Vineyards. Due to Covid-19 both wineries are open for outdoor tastings. Just call or email ahead of time as we know that things can change from one day to the next. Starting with Ampelos we met…