This Pinot noir and Tannat blend loved the rich chicken and pork sausage wrapped in puff pastry.

The first time I tasted tannat was quite memorable: Continue reading →

photo by Deniz Nicole

Happy New Year — Chinese Year of the Pig!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Galentine’s Day!

It’s time to SPARKLE!

Regardless of what you’re celebrating and who you’re celebrating with, we’ve got four sparkling wines for you that won’t break the piggy bank: — two from Italy’s Rotari and two from France’s LaVieille Ferme (which in French means “the old farm”).

On Chinese New Year’s Eve, we celebrated the Year of the Pig and Galentines Day when Sue and I were joined by two Burning Man artists, pyropainter Deniz Nicole of Karousal Kandeo and Kaliedescope Kandeo art installations and Margaret Lambert of Elvis Wedding Chapel and Minstrel Cramp theme camps. Continue reading →

One of Italy’s least known high quality red wines, Sagrantino grows on fewer than 2,400 acres planted in Montefalco in the Province of Perugia, the Umbria region of central Italy, north of Rome  inland of Tuscany. Traditionally, Sagrantino was used to make a Passito or sweet dessert wine, but today, it is well known for the dry or secco versions. Continue reading →

Malbec and other red wine vines at the South Mountain Vineyard of Clos des Amis located above the small town of Santa Paula California. Photo by Gwendolyn Alley.

Instead of attending Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, a break in the weather between winter storms found me drinking my morning coffee while driving the windy South Mountain Road from Santa Paula toward Fillmore along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County’s Heritage Valley (check out Pam Strayer’s  Unified coverage here). The day, while dry, was full of moist air from the river and the rains.

On one side of me, bright balls of orange decorated the glossy dark green leafed citrus trees and on the other steep hillsides banded with chalky marine and red sedimentary layers reminded me of what’s underneath. Soon purple lupine, golden poppies, and yellow mustard will splash across the horizon on the glowing verdant hillsides.

Cisco, my faithful Australian cattle dog sidekick, Continue reading →

“When we started making Cabernet Sauvignon in the late 70s, Napa Valley winemakers followed the Bordeaux model,” says Flora Springs Proprietor John Komes. “The general consensus was that high quality Cabs should be built to age for a long period of time. In practical terms this meant that upon release, many Cabernets were simply too big, too tannic and too overpowering to drink; they needed time in the bottle to mellow out. So in 1984 we decided to try something different, Continue reading →

A prayer for the total lunar eclipse on Tu BiShvat from Rabbi David Seidenberg:

“As we receive the light of the sun reflected in the face of the moon, may we receive wisdom to guide our future.

May we reflect hope, so that we give strength to each other.

We are a part of the Earth’s shadow, and a part of the Earth’s atmosphere, which bends the red light of the sun to illuminate the moon.

When we cast our own shadow, may we still shine a gentle light to illuminate the world around us.

May we be awakened by the grandeur and awe of Your works, so that may we may be filled with courage to heal the Earth from human destruction.

May salvation arise for the heavens, and may this full moon of Shevat bring blessing to the fruit trees and to all Life.

May we strengthen the Tree of Life with all our actions, so that the sun may shine for blessing, for us and for all life.”

Most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I take a hike with my dog Cisco from 8-9am at Arroyo Verde Park which, like so much of my city, was burned in the Thomas Fire.

But many of the trees survived and on my Friday hike, I saw a few bits of green in the trees: new signs of life.

Tu Bishvat on January 21^st celebrates trees, Continue reading →