Monthly Archives: September 2013

7 Reasons Why I Love Grenache for Grenache Day!

I love grenache. I love it alone, and I love it blends. I love old vines, and new. I love grenache as an ice (seriously!) and as a rose.

Picture of Grenache noir grapes from a vineyar...

Picture of Grenache noir grapes from a vineyard in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Why?

  • 1. Grenache has nice body, heft, weight.
  • 2. Grenache is supple and rich.
  • 3. Grenache has lots of strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry fruit.
  • 4. Grenache can have a nice spicy kick to it!
  • 5. Grenache has a pretty rosey garnet color.
  • 6. Grenache goes great with pink and white meats like lamb, pork loin, salmon, but you can also enjoy it with a beef stew.
  • 7. Grenache blends well with other wines.

One of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties on the planet, grenache vines get better with age.

Today is a great day to celebrate all things grenache because Continue reading →

Discover Loire Valley’s Touraine Sauvignon Blancs 9/17/13

BUZVm8uCUAA0AzLSauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite wines–it’s flexible, affordable, and a great wine with some of my favorite foods like oysters, chevre goat cheese and french bread, ceasar salad, and pesto with pasta. It’s my go to wine, my always in the fridge or on the shelf wine.

When in doubt, I get the sauvignon blanc out!

After participating in a number of industry tastings, I’m a huge fan of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand-even the ones that feature a fair amount of gooseberry or cat pee.

Living in California, it’s easy to find locally grown Sauvignon Blanc; a favorite of mine is by Adam Tolmach for his winery, Ojai Vineyards. Continue reading →

Join us tonight! Rieslings from the Finger Lakes 2012 Vintage Part 1

BUT7mYHIYAE7SPGSometimes when it rains it pours–wine that is!

Following Friday’s phenomenal Franciacorta tasting of six sparkling Italian wines, today it’s time to switch gears and open up five newly released Riesling from the Finger Lakes in NY, followed by Tuesday’s Touraine tasting of five different examples of Sauvignon Blanc form the Loire Valley.

Tonight’s tasting will be streamed live on USTREAM (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/finger-lakes-wine-virtual-tasting-series) where wine makers and winery reps will share their expertise and answer our previously submitted questions as well as respond to questions and comments on twitter using the hashtag #FLXWineVT. Continue reading →

Franciacorta, Italy: Here We Come!

Some people might think that Friday the 13th brings bad luck.

JulieannecaseNot me!

Yesterday’s Friday the 13th brought me bubbles–and lots of them!

Yesterday, I was very grateful to be a wine blogger as I popped all of these corks of Italian Sparkling wine from Franciacorta to taste and tweet with Julieanne Case and toast the birthday of my good friend Helen O’Neil.

Here’s Julieanne hard at work on her tablet! Continue reading →