As you may know if you follow this blog, I’ve been contributing toVisit Lodi! Conference & Visitors Bureau blog. Visit Lodi is the official travel website for Lodi, California. Writing for Visit Lodi feels personal for me. Lodi is a wine region I’ve come to know and love. It feels like I’ve had a front…
Category: Wine
A Taste of Albariño from Rías Baixas #RiasBaixas #Albarino
A few weeks back, I was sent ten bottles of Albariño from the Rías Baixas in preparation for a virtual tasting organized and moderated by Snooth last week. While I was delighted to receive the wines, my thoughts quickly turned what I’m I going to do with 10 virtually full bottles of Albariño after the tasting? Clearly,…
Wine of the Day; 2012 Acorn Syrah Axiom Alegría Vineyards
A harmonious, food friendly wine that’s flat-out delicious! This wine is a field blend of 98% Syrah (3 clones) and 2% Viognier. The wine was aged 16 months in a combination of French, American, Hungarian, and European barrels carefully selected to add structure and notes of vanilla and spice, while enhancing the spicy berry flavors…
A Taste of Lodi’s Sustainability and Diversity #EarthDay #LodiWine
Earlier this month, in honor of Earth Day, I took part in a Facebook Live tasting of wines certified by Lodi Rules™ for Sustainable Winegrowing Program. It was part of the broader April is California Wines: Down to Earth Month, an initiative to promote earth-friendly California wines made with sustainable winegrowing and winemaking practices. The objective of…
Wine of The Day: 2013 Silverado Vineyards SOLO Cabernet Sauvignon
2013 Silverado Vineyards SOLO Cabernet Sauvignon; An elegant and well-structured Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the Stag’s Leap District. Fruit for this wine is from a single eponymous vineyard that surrounds their estate winery in the Stag’s Leap District of Napa Valley. It is 100% UCD FPS 30, the Disney Silverado Heritage Clone. It was aged…
Bordeaux Paired With Cajun and Italian Classics #Winophiles
If you’ve ever considered food and wine pairing principles, then you know the most tried, tested, and found true principle of food and wine pairing is “What grows together, goes together”. In other words, match the food and the wine of a place together. For example, pairing Italian food with Italian wines, or a pairing oysters with…
Livermore Valley Winegrowers #BarrelsBottlesBrews
The last weekend in March, my wife and I attended Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association‘s Barrels, Bottles & Brews with a friend. Barrels, Bottles & Brews is a two-day event that offers amateurs and aficionados of beer, wine and spirits the opportunity to sample all three over the course of a couple of days for $45 (advanced)/$55…
A Walk On The Wild Side; 2012 Sandro Fay Costa Bassa and Pasta con Finocchietto Selvatico
My wife and I enjoy walking in our neighborhood. Over the course of the past few weeks, each time we walked past this particular empty lot not from where we live, our olfactory senses was overwhelmed by fresh herbal aromas that hinted of licorice. It looked like fennel to me. And that’s what it…
Under $30 Vintage Champagne? Oui! #Winophiles
This month the French Winophiles are exploring the Champagne region of France. I’ll be tasting and pairing an under $30 Vintage Champagne! The French #Winophiles are a group of wine writers and bloggers that love French wine. Each month we focus on an area or aspect of French wine. Topics include regions, routes, food, travel, history,…
No Reservations Wine Tasting: Iron Horse Vineyards
Iron Horse Vineyards, renowned for their sparkling wines, is one of Sonoma County’s most beautiful, home-grown, family-owned wineries dedicated to producing estate-bottled wine. My wife and I do more than our fair share of wine tasting. We’ve hit all the major wine regions in California (and a few minor ones too;-), along with some tasting…