These are two delightful, high QPR, food friendly, everyday wines I’d recommend for both wine novices and enthusiasts. Finding a $40 bottle of wine that delights my palate is easy. Finding an under $15 that delights my palate is much more of a challenge. Let me digress a bit. When I first started my wine…
Tag: Sonoma County
Wine of the Day; White 2010 Lynmar Estate Chardonnay Quail Hill Vineyard
“This wine was pure joy to drink…It’s my favorite Chardonnay this year!” The 45-acre Quail Hill Vineyard includes 4 distinct blocks of Chardonnay. The largest – Block 14 – was planted in 1972 to the Rued Chardonnay Clone – known for its stunning floral notes; the remaining vines are Old Wente Clone, adding a weighty…
Wine of the Day: 2013 Carlisle Grenache Rossi Ranch #GrenacheDay
2013 Carlisle Grenache Rossi Ranch – This delicious and distinctive wine shows a depth I’ve seldom experienced with Grenache! This wine is a blend of 91% Grenache and 9% Mourvèdre sourced from the Rossi Ranch Vineyard, which was planted in 1910’s by Carlo Rossi. From the winery.…This wine is one of several surprises in 2013. Normally…
A Taste Of Equavinity Wines
Equavinity Wines is a collaboration between two Sonoma icons — zinfandel impresario Bruce Patch and Russian River Vineyards, one of West County’s most recognizable wineries. I’ve previously featured Bruce Patch Wines on this blog (see “Additional Reading” below). I was impressed with the wines. So when Bruce Patch asked me if I was interested in receiving sample…
2015 Ellipsis Pinot Meunier Rose #WineStudio
2015 Ellipsis Wine Company Rose of Pinot Meunier Ellipsis Wine Company sources Pinot Meunier grapes are sourced from Christine’s Vineyard located in the Sonoma Coast AVA bordering Russian River Valley. This is an “intentional” rosé that’s a blend of 90% Pinot Meunier, 5% Zin, and 5% Syrah. The grapes were picked at 24 brix and…
Wine Country Wanderlust: A Photo Essay
Spring is a great time to visit wine country. There is a rebirth underway in the vineyards. The weather is more agreeable (well at least it is in California, where I’m based;-) It’s less crowded in tasting rooms. And rore hours of daylight mean tasting rooms are open longer. Vineyards are carpeted with brilliant yellow,…
Wine Tasting Along the West Sonoma Coast
Wine tasting along the West Sonoma Coast on the kind of day that inspired “California Dreamin’”, including some tips for how to maximize your trip to the West Sonoma Coast. Last weekend, on the spur of the moment, my wife and I decided to head up to the Sonoma Coast to visit an old friend….
A #SundayFunday in Sonoma Valley
Last weekend my wife and I decided, spur of the moment, to head up Sonoma to go to the Fremont Diner and then do some wine tasting. We got off to a later start than we hoped for. When we arrived at the Fremont Diner we were told it would be a 90 minute wait…
Zin-A-Palooza! Wine Tasting Club Blind Tastes Ten Zinfandels
The most recent gathering of the Pacific Pointe Wine Tasting Club (“PPWTC”) featured a Zin-A-Palooza! The PPWTC started in 2010. Initially, we met every couple of months, but by popular demand we meet every six weeks or so these days. We typically have a non-scoring event or two each year (the most recent was a record…
Recap of 2015 Passport to Dry Creek Valley #DCVPassport
My wife, a friend of ours and I attended past weekend’s Passport to Dry Creek Valley. This was the 26th Annual Passport to Dry Creek Valley. For the uninitiated, here’s a description of the event: Passport to Dry Creek Valley® was introduced in 1990, by the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley®, as a time every year…