2015 Dark & Delicious;Top 15 Favorite Petite Sirahs

Last week, I attended the 9th annual Dark & Delicious Petite Sirah™ wine and food event held at Rock Wall Wine Company in Alameda.  The event is put on each year by  P.S. I Love You, an association of Petite Sirah growers, producers and winemakers. There were about 50 wineries pouring.  My guess would be there were over 100…

Dark and Delicious 2015 – A Petite Sirah and Food Extravaganza!

One of my favorite Bay Area food and wine events, the 9th annual Dark & Delicious Petite Sirah™ is coming to Alameda in two week on Friday, February 20th!  Dark & Delicious (“D&D”) is the preeminent annual Petite Sirah event in the world.  It’s put on each year by  P.S. I Love You, an association of Petite…

Wine of the Week; 2012 Vigneto San Vito – Orsi Pignoletto

Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out.  This week’s wine is the 2012 Vigneto San Vito – Orsi Pignoletto Colli Bolognesi Classico Vigna del Grotto. The Winery Federico Orsi & Carola Orsi Pallavicino founded Orsi – Vigneto San Vito in 2005 with…

Wine of the Week; 2010 Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva

Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out.  My Wine Of The Week is the 2010 Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva. The Winery Cantele is a family run winery founded by Giovanni (“Gianni”) Battista Cantele, and his two sons Augusto and Domenico in 1979….

Wine of The Week: 2001 La Rioja Alta “904” Gran Reserva #TempranilloDay

Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out.  My Wine Of The Week is the 2001 La Rioja Alta “904” Gran Reserva The Winery La Rioja Alta, S.A. was founded in 1890 when five Riojan and Basque families who shared a passion…

Champagne Chronicles – Day 3

This is the third in what will be a series of five posts about my visit to Champagne Day 1 – Guided tour of Reims Cathedral and Champagne dinner Day 2 – C.I.V.C., Roger Coulon, and Veuve Clicquot ______________________________________________________________________ Last month, I had the privilege of traveling to the Champagne region in France as a guest of the U.S….

A Taste of Champagne Krug

Last week, I had the pleasure attending a special tasting of the House of Krug at K&L Wine Merchants. I was invited to the intimate tasting with about a dozen others by K&L’s Champagne buyer, Gary Westby. It was definitely an exciting opportunity for me.  I’ve tasted more than my share of Champagne, and sparkling wines,…

A Taste of Bodegas Contino

Last fall, my wife and I spent 17 glorious days in Spain.  It was the trip of a lifetime. Our itinerary included Barcelona, San Sebastian (amazing food), Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, and Granada (The Alhambra is a must – simply awesome!).  Of course, being the winos, we also squeezed in some time in La Rioja.  Our…

#DrinkPink Rosé of the Week; 2013 Bodegas Ostatu Rosado

Rosé season is in full bloom, although truth be told, it’s Rosé season for me pretty much year-round for me!  With that in mind, I’m cranking up my annual series of weekly “Drink Pink!“ Rosé tastings.  It’s my quest for the best Pink Porch Pounders for $20 or less!  This week’s rosé is the 2013 Bodegas Ostatu Rosado. The…