The theme of the most recent Pacific Pointe Wine Tasting Club (“PPWTC”) was International Chardonnay. Inspiration for this theme came from my recent tastings of the Chardonnay of Chablis and Burgundy. I was virtually an ABC (“Anything But Chardonnay”) person before the tastings of French Chardonnay. They are so different from most California Chardonnay I’ve…
Recap of the 2014 Seven % Solution Tasting
Last week, I attended the second “Seven % Solution tasting in San Francisco. The event was organized by Bergamot Alley. It’s a unique event premised on the following: Roughly 93% of Northern California Vineyard acreage is planted to eight grape varieties. The remaining 7% of acreage is home to an impressive aggregation of lesser known…
#DrinkPink; 2013 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas Rosé
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 Tablas Creek Patelin de…
Wine of the Week; 2001 Marques de Legarda Gran Reserva
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. For this week, my Wine of the Week is the 2001 Marques de Legarda Gran Reserva Rioja. The Winery Marqués de Legarda is one of two labels sold by Bodegas de la…
A Taste of Two Shepherds
When I started this blog in July 2010, I took (ah the benefit of hindsight) the ” Ready, Fire, Aim” approach. I knew next to nothing about blogging. All I knew is that I had a passion for wine that I wanted to share. And that I wanted to continue to educate myself about wine,…
Wine of the Week; 2011 JC Cellars Dusi Vineyard Zinfandel
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. For this week, my Wine of the Week is the 2011 JC Cellars Isabel Dusi Vineyard Zinfandel. The Winery JC Cellars (“JCC”) is an award-winning urban winery located in Oakland, CA. Jeff Cohn is…
My New Everyday Bubbly; Kirkland Prosecco!
A friend of mine, who adores sparkling wine, especially Prosecco, IM’d me last week. The message said “Martin go get yourself 2 bottles of Costco brand prosecco…….it will blow your mind for the price….I was just shocked”. He drinks a lot of Prosecco. That’s high praise. Since my wife and I were hosting a wine…
#DrinkPink Rosé of the Week; 2013 Bedrock “Ode to Lulu” Rosé
Rosé 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 $20 or less! This week’s Rosé is the 2013 Bedrock Wine Company “Ode to Lulu”…
A Taste of Casey Flat Ranch
One of the things I enjoy most about writing this wine blog is that I get a chance to discover exciting wines, and/or a wine tasting regions. I had a chance to discover both exciting wines and an exciting wine region when I invited by Charles Communications Associates to participate in an online tasting of the latest spring…
Wine of the Week: 2011 Thierry & Pascale Matrot Bourgogne Blanc
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. For this week, my Wine of the Week is the 2011 Thierry & Pascale Matrot Bourgogne Blanc. The Winery Domaine Matrot is one of the oldest estate-bottlers in Burgundy. It has been distributed in…