2018 Horsepower Grenache, Fiddleneck Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
“The point is to create an honest wine that has an identity. You want to taste the place,” says Christophe Baron. And the point of Grenache Day is to celebrate the pure identity of this grape which often gets lost and blended. So what better wine to feature on Grenache Day than Christophe Baron’s Horsepower Grenache paired with roasted blue cheese stuffed figs, bacon wrapped squash bites, eggplant bruschetta, and grilled rack of lamb laden with garlic and rosemary?
At biodynamic Horsepower Vineyards located in the Stones of the Walla Walla Valley, Continue reading →
As summer yields to autumn, we transition to fall flavors, yet it can still be quite warm. What wine to drink and food to pair? Since it is California Wine Month, we decided to focus on iconic Cabernet Sauvignon grown organically or biodynamically. but from two lesser known regions, Continue reading →
When Sue came over to do Rosè from Provence paired with fish tacos for this month’s “Summer in Provence” prompt with the Winophiles, I discovered I was fresh out of Rosè from Provence! Instead of making a run for the store, I turned to France’s second oldest wine region, Côtes du Rhône, located just north of Provence, where recently Continue reading →
Sparkling Whites from Mendo’s Scharffenberger and Marche’s Mai Sentito Pair with Pizza
What are your favorite pairings with pizza? When I was a kid, it was root beer. When I was older, I loved sharing pizza and a pitcher of beer with friends, and famed Italian pizza chef swears by beer; he even has a signature beer available at his award winning restaurants 50 Kalo in Rome, Naples, and London. Wine lovers like me turn to red wine, favoring Chianti or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and if I can find it, Nerello Mascalese. But on a warm summer night, I like Continue reading →
2 Red Pet Nats by Women Winemakers Paired with Pasta Bolognese and Fennel Flower Salad
Following years of drought, devastating floods bring more rain in a few weeks time than in the previous year. Sound familiar? Maybe a little like California in 2023? While we in California did experience floods that triggered an emergency declaration in many counties of California including Ventura where I live, today I want to call attention to the spring floods that came in May to Italy’s Emilia Romagna when the same amount of rain that might fall in seven months fell in two weeks in a series of storms, and people are still recovering. Continue reading →
What are South American “Native” Grapes? These days, everyone knows and loves Malbec from Argentina. In fact it is so widely identified with Argentina that it is easy to forget that it is not a “native grape” of South America but originally from France. Side by side, the two are very different, with the one from Argentina typically much more accessible and full of fruit as well as easier to find and affordable. Less well known but equally at home and flourishing in Argentina is Bonarda, originally from Savoy. A third grape that is making a name for itself in Argentina is Torrontes, a white wine grape with a convoluted history, but the one that actually is the most “native” as its heritage is the Criollas group of grape varieties which refers to American-born versions of the European grapevine.
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 