Monthly Archives: March 2024
Ventura Visit With Wildflower Winery’s Winemaker Natalie Albertson in Women’s History Month
With their pastoral beauty, I love visiting vineyards surrounding wineries–don’t you?. But urban wineries and tasting rooms can be fun too– and often closer to home! Recently, my writing partner Sue Hill and I drove just a few miles from my house in Ventura to Wildflower Winery to check out the space, and to meet up with woman winemaker and winery owner Natalie Albertson to taste through a selection of her wines in bottle — plus two in barrel! Sue made a beautiful charcuterie board which we brought with us — and you can bring a picnic too on your next winery visit! Keep reading for ideas (just be sure to check if they allow outside food first).
A Toast to Riesling and Women’s History Month with Brooks Wine as Claire Jarreau Takes the Reins
Today we are celebrating both Women’s History Month and Riesling Day with a Riesling from Brooks Winery in Oregon which just named Claire Jarreau Head Winemaker after serving as Associate Winemaker and as member of the Brooks Wine team for ten years. Why is March 13 Riesling Day? Because March 13, 1345, is the first recorded date for the planting Riesling vines. The village of Hochheim, Germany is where it began, and not surprisingly, Germany has the most plantings today with 24,500 ha (about 61k acres, according to several sources). In the Alsace region of France, Riesling is on record as being planted in 1477; today 3,280 ha (8,100 acres) are planted with these vines. In the US, Washington State pioneers planted Riesling in the 1880s, and now they grow riesling on 4500 acres (happy Washington Wine Month by the way!). California’s Riesling acres has dropped to just under 3k acres (check out Smith-Madrone’s passion for Riesling).
Why Oregon’s Brooks Wine’s Riesling for Riesling’s Birthday and Women’s History Month? Continue reading
BI.VI.SI.: Revitalizing Sicily’s native, ancient vines for forgotten flavors like fruity Frappato #ItalianFWT
As an island in the Mediterranean off the “toe” of Italy, Sicily is surrounded by the sea and not far from Africa; the land and the culture benefit from being cut off and from intentional and accidental travelers — human, animal, and vegetable. Hence so many indigenous grapes and an unusual cuisine. Read “An Intro to Five of Sicily’s Native Grapes” here. Read Sicily’s Global and Coastal Influences: 5 Dishes Paired with 3 Nero D’Avola here.
Legacy of Madame Pommery, Mother-Daughter Duo Nathalie and Pauline Vranken: On #InternationalWomensDay, Drink Champagne Pommery with Pate + Brie
Cheers to all women International Women’s Day March 8 with Pommery Brut paired with brie and pate! Today we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and we make a call to action to accelerate women’s equality everywhere on the globe. The first IWD gathering took place in 1911 with over a million people. Today in 2o24, IWD emphasizes inclusivity–that it belongs to all women in all groups collectively everywhere: IWD is not country, group, or organization specific. To emphasize, this year’s event uses the hashtags #IWD2024 #InspireInclusion.
And what wine to toast women and their accomplishments? How about one from Pommery with a nod to mother daughter team Nathalie and Pauline Vranken who carry on the legacy of Madame Pommery 150 years after she created Brut Champagne?
Absinthia’s Organic Absinthe and Syrups for Cocktails and Sips with an Absinthe Twist #AbsintheDay Margaritas and More
If I am not a big black licorice fan, how is it that I am RAVING about ABSINTHIA’S organic ABSINTHE? Blame Burning Man! And Sue Hill’s mixology magic! And Absinthe Day today — the day 17 years ago when absinthe in the US was no longer banned!!
Please VOTE for Gwendolyn Alley: Wine Travel Award “The Brightest Journey” March 1-31, 2024
Big news, friends and fans of Wine Predator! I’m nominated for the 2024 Wine Travel Awards in the Wine and Food Influencer category of “The Brightest Journey”! Public voting is open from now until March 31st, and I would be so grateful if you could take a minute to vote for me. It’s fast, it’s easy and it’s here: just click the link to my profile where you can vote for me.