Hello, and howdy from the veggie garden! Last week, I was asked by Maureen (our marketing director extraordinaire) to write a little about pairing wine with vegetarian cuisine for Vino Visit, our website that books our really cool brand new private tastings. I misunderstood, however, and thought I was supposed…
Hello again! Last week, we talked about the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in terms of its magnitude (7162 entries) and seamless organization (thanks to Directors Bob and Scott Fraser and their entire team). Today, let’s take a look at how the competition functions. My wine mentor Bill Stevens taught…
Hello, Hello, Hello! WOW!!! I’m hardly ever short on words, but right now I’m struggling to find any that can convey what an awesomely incredible time Kathy and I had last week in Sonoma. I had the professional experience of a lifetime judging the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competiion, but…
Here’s to wishing everyone a very healthy, happy, and prosperous 2016. We’re all familiar New Years traditions such as broken resolutions, black-eyed peas, Champagne, and fireworks. Today, however, I realized I knew very little, if anything, about the origins of the holiday. So, here we go… Celebrating the new year…
In our new Port, Jason and crew have once again created a masterful blend; not just of different grapes, but different vintages as well. This delightful fortified wine is about 63% Touriga Nacional (the Portuguese grape for Portos) from the 2012 vintage. It also has 21% Syrah and 13% Merlot…
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Habari Gani, and Seasons Greetings! However we celebrate, it’s definitely time for some holiday cheer. So, today we have a super-awesome recipe for a very Christmasy, Crock Pot mulled wine coming to you from Heather De Laurentis. She is Brian’s oldest daughter, as well as my…
With some colder weather upon us, this is a great time to talk a little bit about Port. Plus, Jason just bottled our new GCV Port which I’ll review very soon! Ports are “fortified” wines typically served with (or as) dessert. Stilton, a rich, creamy English blue-veined cheese originally from the town of Stilton in Huntingdonshire is the classic pairing with Port. Let’s begin with some history before we discuss production and style. Port originated in the Durro Valley of Northern Portugal, and dates back to the seventeenth century.
Almost any day is a good day for a rendezvous of friends, and today is an especially good day to talk about our new GCV 2013 Rendezvous. If it hasn’t been released already, it should be any day now. The word is French, and dates back to the late 16th century. It meant “present yourself”, while we think of it as a gathering or get together of friends. Years ago, a lady on one of my tours kept referring to it as “Rendiverous”. She turned a noun into a descriptor, and to me it has been Rendiverous ever since.
Ciao, Scampi! Wow, I really love cheap word play, and that’s pretty darn cheap. Last night I whipped up a really good (and really simple) shrimp scampi. We’ve not done a wine recipe in a while, so how about we check this one out. Scampi is an Italian word for the tail portion of almost any crustacean, from crayfish to lobster. We most often associate scampi with shrimp, however, and April 29 is celebrated as National Shrimp Scampi Day.
Congratulations to our very own Jeff Binney, of Jeff’s Corner fame, being selected as a judge for the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. A rare honor! Read his post below to learn more!
We interviewed the owner, Brian Heath, to get the inside scoop on the first two Heath Vineyards harvests in Paso Robles and the new Owner’s Club!
Today is Muscat day; hey, hey, hey! With a history stretching back millennia, the Muscat family of grapes is most likely the progenitor of all wine grapes. It has hundreds of clones, and the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder called it “uva apiana” (grape of the bees) due to its honey-like aromas. These hundreds of varieties range in color from white to almost black, and produce wines ranging in style from white to red, dry to very sweet, and are often fortified. The best variety for producing great wine is “Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains” (White Muscat with little berries). We know this grape as Muscat Canelli.