I love Guinness, but I don’t necessarily want it with my corned beef and cabbage (scroll down for recipe that uses Guinness made in the Instant pot– so easy!)
Every year I hit the internet for ideas and I try different wines.
Different wines as in red wines. Continue reading
Unroll your windows and let the scent of citrus blossoms fill the air. Smell the sage in the chaparral or the dampness of the sycamores along the creeks or Ventura River.
At the end of the day, watch the sun paint the Topa Topa Mountains with splashes of color in a display famously known as “The Pink Moment.”
The Topa Mountain Rose of Grenache shows Ojai’s famous “Pink Moment”
By bright moonlight or abundant sunlight, Ojai Valley inspires and invites artistic expression — whether the medium is paint, pastels, words, or music with the Ojai Music Festival continuing to go strong since 1947. Artist Beatrice Woods, the Mama of Dada, famously shocked herself while living here until she died in her 90s in the 90s, attributing her long life to beauty (in men especially!) and chocolate.
I know, I know, COVID-19 is not a laughing matter, especially as the past 24 hours have been a “whirlwine” of corona virus caused cancellations.
And if it hasn’t been cancelled yet, it probably will be — like my Napa Valley Wine Academy WSET 3 course. Doesn’t it look awesome? Too bad it’s not happening now.
Cancellations and postponements include April’s Vinitaly and the Italian Wine Ambassador Course moved to June, wine classes at Napa Valley Wine Academy like the Bud Break class I was slated to attend as well as press trips to France for Millesima in March and Clink Different Continue reading
Looking for some of Italy’s most interesting and exciting wines? Look no further than eastern Italy near the border with Slovenia says Italian wine expert Ian D’Agata.
And which winery has really caught his attention?
Based in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy, Vigna Petrussa, says renowned Italian wine expert Ian D’Agata is “one of Italy’s best and most under the radar estates.”
Thirty years ago, San Francisco Bay Area attorney Jayson Pahlmeyer set out to make a very specific style of red wine, Mouton Bordeaux, and he chose Napa Valley to do so. He worked with professors from Bordeaux, sending samples of soil, and they returned with these results: grow corn. He persevered, and eventually, a place was found to develop his dream and find success– in part because in 1981 he smuggled vines in from France! Not to mention one of his wines getting a cameo in a major Hollywood film (scroll down for the clip).
Now, thirty years later it’s women that call the shots, and wines made by women that we’re celebrating during March’s Women’s History Month. Today Jayson’s daughter Cleo runs the show as President of Pahlmeyer since 2017, and in terms of winemaking, women have held this job for a number of years as well! In 1993 Continue reading
The picnic basket, James! James Donzella, that is! He takes people in his historic vehicle on a tour with lunch and tasting at Clos des Amis. Details below.
Many of Ventura County’s vineyards back right up to wild lands — and by wild lands, I mean the Los Padres National Forest which provides excellent habitat for wild animals including bears.
So maybe not tigers, and while we DO have mountain lions in our woods, they are not as interested in the grapes as the BEARS are and the deer and raccoons too!
Let’s keep the mountain lions on the labels and not in the vineyards! especially during our lunch break with sandwiches from Fillmore’s Roan Mills Bakery.
photo from 2019 tasting courtesy of WOPN
Lovers of Pinot Noir UNITE and calendar these three events: World of Pinot Noir (WOPN) at the Bacarra Resort Santa Barbara CA March 5-8, International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) July 24-26 in McMinnville OR, and Pinot Noir New Zealand (PN NZ) slated for February 23-25 2021 in Christchurch NZ.
WOPN kicks off with a field trip to WALT’s Clos Pepe vineyards OR an Alto Adige lunch at the Wine Cask in downtown Santa Barbara
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 