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Our trip to Alsace could be done over a long layover, although it’s practically impossible since the nearest major airport is three hours away. Spent (mostly) eating and drinking, we also learned a ton about the people, their wines and the region. Here’s a glimpse into the 24 hours we were there.   We had […]

A Google news search for El Nino’s effect on vineyards generates tens of pages of opinion articles speculating on if and how the big winter will contribute to the quality of the 2016 harvest. As always, the media is stirring up concern regarding the impact of heavy rainfall on grapevines in articles such as Eater’s, […]

Last week, we sent our first five of our top ten favorite activities in Sonoma County. We promised another set this week and here they are and we promise they’re just as fun and economical as the first set. All you’ll need is some fuel and your fellow coworkers soon to be new friends. Here […]

We say, hand over a glass of each!  ‘Tis the season to think pink! Even Riedel is giving Rosé its own glass! Rose. We’ll take it any way it comes, sparkling, saignée, as long as it’s pink — and at least mostly dry. But that’s just us. 3 ways – Saignée, skin contact, blending. Rosé is always […]

It’s Winter, or at least, in California, we pretend like it is. We all know we need more than a couple really hard rainstorms (every day, until the end of next month) to keep the snow pack, which feeds our streams, which feed our crops and vines, not to mention us! In hoping for a cool and wet March, here are some reds we love to drink when its cold to keep us warm! Best of all they’re all around 20 bucks, so you can save while you sip.

The first thing to know for Chasing New Zealand Verasion is that harvest is in the spring, or is it fall? Ok let’s keep this universal and say ‘New Zealand’s wine harvest happens in or around February-May.’

Harvest in New Zealand, or anywhere in the southern hemisphere, is another way to get great experience and a different perspective, especially if you had worked harvest in the northern hemisphere exactly prior to that. Hopefully you’ve saved up enough money to travel and get to your destination, sold your car to afford your next plane ticket and you’re off to another adventure, new land, different wines, more great friends to make.

It’s the first week of March, 2010, midnight, my 14th hour of the day and the last day in the World of Pinot Noir office before the event starts tomorrow in Shell Beach. It will be the first of four days total, hosting over 12 individual events, 220 wineries, and expecting over 2000 guests. I’m looking at the […]

After several years in bottle, wine can dip into a ‘dumb phase.’ This wine was probably fruit forward, round on the palate, full of minerality and expressive of all beautiful traits that define classic Riesling, but are now muted, and the wine seems uninteresting and dull. Sometimes, decanting can help bring the wine to life, but typically, this is a phase that can go on for months to a few years.

The toughest part of describing the aromas in wine is first detecting the flavors, but once you have that down, the next challenge is to find a rhythm in spitting out a description that ‘wows.’ Try this flow we’ve described in this post. Check out the color. White wines should point you down one path, say white fruits, stone fruits, citrus, reds another, red fruits like cherry, blackberry. Sometimes white and red wine aromas can overlap with fruits like orange and dried fruit aromas.

At 12:01 AM, French time yesterday, Beaujolais Nouveau wines from this year’s vintage are released, just weeks after fermentation is complete. Obviously, there’s a huge party. The most well known event started Wednesday evening and will continue through Sunday in the town of Beaujeu.
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