The excitement of verasion in the vineyard becomes the high intensity of harvest.
Picking began already in one vineyard in Ventura County! And I was there in the Mitchell vineyard in Saticoy where volunteers were picking chardonnay to go into the Clos des Amis Chambang sparkling wine!! Time to celebrate!
As with all farming, there’s many questions at harvest including: Continue reading
Since 2000 BC, people have been making wine from the abundant indigenous grapes in Portugal– second only to Italy with almost 300 grapes being made into wine today. Surprisingly few people are familiar with the grapes, the region, or the wine… beyond Port, a fortified beverage originating in northern Portugal that traveled well.
Why? Well, for many years all of the wine made in Portugal was enjoyed by the Portuguese or people visiting Portugal!
Now it’s time for a change– time to get to know the wines of Portugal!
I’ve been investigating and tasting wines from Portugal, starting in 2009 when I traveled there on a press trip with Jo Diaz and hosted by Enoforum Wines to visit the Alentejo.
when I fell in love with the culture, the cuisine, the cobbles, the castles, the coastline and more.
A route Continue reading
What says summer to you?
How about easy meals cooked on the grill or the stove top paired with a nice light bright chilled wine and enjoyed outside on a warm evening with friends?
To beat the summer heat, try these four dry rosato from Italy paired with Sicilian panelle and crabcakes! Continue reading
When I heard from Gretel Compton about verasion in the Clos des Amis South Mountain vineyard AND that the 2020 virtual Wine Media Conference wanted short introductory clips from attendees, I knew what I had to do: Continue reading
Bubbles! We love them! But when they come from different parts of the world and have different names how are they the same? Different?
How does a Italian Prosecco taste side by side with a Spanish Cava, a glass of Champagne, a sparkler from California? Do they all go with the same foods? What goes with bubbles?
To acquiesce is to agree with something, to give in, to go along. It comes from Latin meaning “to rest” as in to rest a case or to give tacit agreement.
So you’d think that because Lodi’s Acquiesce Winery focuses on white wines in a region known for red wines, or because Acquiesce features obscure white Rhone varietals, that the name suggests that they gave in– that perhaps someone had already planted these vineyards with these white grapes, and they just acquiesced.
But that’s not the case.
The story goes that Rodney Tipton was Continue reading
“Roussillon has the potential to be as great as Bordeaux, Burgundy or the Rhône.”
So says Michel Chapoutier, oenologist, biodynamic farmer, famed Rhône winemaker, and head of Maison M. Chapoutier whose Bila-Haut wines from the region provide a testimony offering excellent wines at an affordable price. Continue reading
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 