Everybody’s talking about all of the leftover candy they have because
COVID meant kids didn’t go trick or treating like usual.
Even with ingenious methods of delivery. Continue reading
Author Archives: Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator
Sweet Treats: Warre’s Porto
Warre’s Porto
Even though today is Halloween, I’m not going to suggest wine to pair with candy.
Nope, not doing it.
this witch clearly enjoys Porto! at The Bees Knees located between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay near rural Los Osos, CA
Instead, as the days get dark and cold, and you have a sweet tooth this holiday season, Continue reading
Interview with Oded Shakked of Longboard plus #MerlotMe with Dakine Vineyard at the Bees Knees
Oded Shakked pours himself a splash of rose in the Longboard tasting room to enjoy during our mid-October 2020 interview.
“My ego is not in the wine,” says Longboard’s Oded Shakked in a recent interview held in his tasting room and winery in Healdsburg. “My passion is in the wine.”
Oded’s passion for wine came about through his passion for surfing. After surfing breaks along the Atlantic Coast in Bordeaux (“there’s big waves in Bordeaux!”), Spain and Portugal, he was the one sent into town to get their jug of wine.
It was a health matter, he explained: Continue reading
Curious About Carignan?
Carignan: “It’s the perfect blending grape,” says Ridge’s David Gates, that’s “why it’s still around.” According to Gates in a Carignan Day webinar today, Oct. 29, 2020 led by Fred Swan, Carignan brightens acidity, brings out aromas, and pushes fruit flavors forward.
Curious about Carignan? Or is it Carignane? Maybe Cariñena?
Either way you spell it, this “bistro style wine with good tannins but not too much” says Gates, works on its own or blended– and it should show up more often in your glass and mine! Continue reading
In The Heart of NoCal Wine Country: Sonoma’s Healdsburg Welcomes You #WorldWineTravel
a mural just off the plaza on Plaza Street in Healdsburg
“I am in Healdsburg a few short blocks to the plaza and wineries,” my friend Sandy writes, saying she needs a cat sitter while she’s out of town. “It’s a one bedroom, a duplex in a house from 1895. I have a nice covered porch surrounded by trees and wonderful neighbors. I know you like to travel and do wine things in different areas. All the restaurants seem to be open. I see wine tastings on the sidewalk.” Continue reading
By the numbers: 5 Fun Facts about Champagne on #ChampagneDay2020
I bought this wine on sale and celebrated some birthdays with it, and enjoyed with with oysters and Ceasar salad. SRP $54.
Five fun facts about Champagne by the numbers: Continue reading
#MerlotMe More with Napa’s Peju
As we cautiously consider moves further from home, wineries with expansive lawns and trees like at Charles Krug and gracious gardens like at Peju will be precious places to visit.
Napa Valley’s Peju offers one such retreat with its distinctive 50 foot tower designed by renowned Southern California architect Calvin Straub which graces the label’s estate-bottled Peju wine.
In the Before Time, I visited Continue reading
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 