Merlot

Article: Top Picks in 2009 Bordeaux from the Union des Grands Crus Tasting in San Francisco

Today we take a brief detour from California to France. I attended the Union des Grands Crus Tasting of 2009 Bordeaux on Saturday, January...

Article: 7 New Year’s Resolutions for Expanding Your Wine Horizons

New Year’s resolutions are often made but rarely kept. They are usually positive goals we create to improve ourselves or our lives. But resolutions frequently involve stopping behavior that...

Article: Spotlight on the Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak AVA

The Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak AVA became effective  on November 28, 2011. It is a 4,570-acre region, roughly two-thirds of which is in southern...

Article: Updated: Antonio Galloni Identifies a New Generation of Cult Wineries

Update: The numbers in my own original analysis below omitted a number of wines Antonio Galloni reviewed, due to an issue with "search" on the WA site. After reviewing the...

Article: 10 Big Wine Events to Look Forward to in Early 2012

As many people are looking forward to a spending this weekend at home with family and friends, there aren’t a lot of wine events. So, with the New Year just around the corner, this...

Article: Introducing the Coombsville AVA in Napa Valley

Yesterday, December 14, 2011, the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)

Article: Wines that Age Well - An Overview by Variety and Region

Whether you are stocking a wine cellar for bottle-aging wine or just shopping the “old and rare” section of your favorite wine shop, there are a few things you should...

Article: 2008 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Napa Valley came through the 2008 vintage better than many northern California AVAs. It was little-effected by the wildfires or their smoke and suffered fewer extreme weather conditions. That said, it was still a challenging year,...

Article: 10 Entertaining Wine Events for September 24 - 25, 2011

While the...

Article: My Tweets from the Live Blogging, Speed Tasting at the Bloggers Conference

Friday and Saturday at the North American Wine Bloggers Conference, "live blogging, speed tasting" was included in the agenda. There was one session each day. The bloggers sat...

Article: The Winning Wines from the San Francisco International Wine Competition

The San Francisco International Wine Competition was held at San Francisco's...

Article: To Kalon to be named State Vineyard of the Year

As part of the annual California State Fair Wine...

Article: 2001 Vérité La Joie Sonoma County Red Wine

I reached blindly into one of our wine fridges, looking for a wine to take to dinner. [If you buy a wine fridge, I highly recommend those with slide out drawers that allow you to easily see each bottle’s label.] In a stroke of luck aided only s...

Article: Coppola Acquires Inglenook Name for Rubicon, Hires Phillipe Bascaules

Francis Ford Coppola, owner of Rubicon Estate Winery, acquired...

Article: 1992, 2008 and 2010 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains

Yesterday, I attended the annual Ridge Monte Bello Assemblage tasting held at their Monte Bello Estate winery high in the mountains above Cupertino. At the...

Article: Blackstone to Close Sonoma Tasting Room, Move Winemaking

The

Article: 2002 Paloma Merlot Napa Valley (Spring Mountain)

Jim and Barbara Richards bought the property that is now the Paloma Vineyard in 1983 on the advice of their friend Dan Duckhorn. The Richards' were living in Texas...

Article: 2007 Ispiri Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley

Ispiri is a small-production label currently offering two wines made from grapes grown on Pine Mountain in...

Article: 2005 Ladera Merlot Howell Mountain

Ladera is a winery with old roots but a relatively new beginning. The winery building, on Howell...

Article: A Taste of the Food & Wine Magazine American Wine Awards Ceremony

Last night, Food & Wine Magazine presented their American Wine Awards at