June 30, 2016
2014 Far Niente - Chardonnay Napa Valley (California) Retail: $50 - $67 Director of Winemaking: Dirk Hampson Winemaker: Nicole Marchesi I heard of Nickel and Nickel Vineyards and while shopping one day I noticed that they make Far Niente wines. Given the price, I purchased a bottle of Far Niente for a special occasion. We were invited over to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary also a dear friend’s birthday so I brought along a bottle to share. I quietly went to the bar and opened it. Once...
June 29, 2016
2013 Black Stallion Estate Winery – Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (California – Oak Knoll District) Retail: $28 Winemaker: Ralf Holdenried Director of Public Relations: Kylie Barnett We obtained a bottle of this Cabernet Sauvignon after seeing it win a Platinum award at the May 2016 San Diego International Wine and Spirits Competition. The wine color was a deep garnet that was semi-transparent. The first aroma from this wine was woodsy and heavy blackberries that we think make a great...
June 28, 2016
Joseph Phelps – 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley - St. Helena, California Retail: $32 Winemaker: Ashley Hepworth We planned a trip to see our son attending Berkeley and threw in a couple days in Napa Valley. One of the places nearly everyone we talked to said was to visit Joseph Phelps Vineyards. The beckon call was to try the Insignia Cabernet Sauvignon. We scheduled an appointment at 10:30 am on a Sunday morning and had the place pretty much to ourselves. The tasting room was on the patio...
June 26, 2016
Baileyana Winery – 2013 El Gordo (Chardonnay) Retail $33 Winemaker Christian Roguenant My wife Janet and I found Baileyana Winery while our daughter was in college at Cal Poly San Luis Obisbpo. We purchased a whole bunch of red wine for the kitchen remodel and had nearly no white wines. I think we bought 100 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of white! We found out that Baileyana Winery has really great white wines so we stopped into their old schoolhouse tasting room. My wife, daughter and father...
June 23, 2016
2012 Schug Estate Pinot Noir Carneros (California) Retail: $45 Winemaster Emeritus: Walter Schug Winemaker: Michael Cox This wine review became more of a winemaker history as we researched the wine. The history and different approach to winemaking by Schug Vineyards is worth exploring. We believe that a wine is as good as it is because of the grapes, the appellation and the winemaker combined. This wine has all three! Schug Estate has been in Carneros since 1989 but the winemaking experience...
June 16, 2016
History Replanted One Vine at a Time – An Interview with Winemaker Andy Harris Chuparosa Vineyards (Ramona, California) www.chuparosavineyards.com Q: When did you first begin your interest in wine? A: About 19 years old. Q: How does a 19-year-old develop an interest in wine? Kids who learn from their parents to appreciate wine are extremely lucky individuals. In my case my parents didn't drink. At 19, I was flying down to a little place called Pope Valley, California from southeast Idaho. It...
June 13, 2016
How to improve you wine tasting skills -by Robert Ilko To get better at tasting wines, which I know that I need to constantly improve, there are some easy steps and some fun steps to improve our wine tasting skills. This article is not about how to judge wines on points but what can people do to enjoy the wine they are drinking more. To be more knowledgeable. What I hear from wine critics, judges and wine enthusiasts is to drink many different wines as possible. That is fun and all but is that...
June 11, 2016
Chateau Bonnet – 2015 Bourdeaux (White) Entre-deux-Mers Retail: $16 Winemaker: André Lurton Cellar Master: Laurent Le Dez We may have found a nice Summer wine that is simply good by itself. This wine has a golden color with a slight green hue showing its freshness. While called a Sauvignon Blanc, it is a mix of 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon and 10% Muscadelle. What is Muscadelle (and we had to find out for ourselves)? It is a sweet grape that is similar to Muscat but not related*....
June 10, 2016
2012 Chateaux la Tour de Mons – Bordeaux (Merlot blend) Margaux - left bank Retail: $40 Winemaker: Managing Director Thierry Budin For those who know a little about Bourdeuax, this is a left bank Merlot blended wine with 55% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot. The winery chateau dates back to the 13th Century. The grapes from this winery are predominately 30 years old with some being planted in 1934 according to the winery’s website. They produce 12,500 cases of this solid...
June 09, 2016
2012 Chalk Hill Chardonnay Sonoma Coast – 100% Estate Retail: $38 Winemaker: Not disclosed The appearance of this Chardonnay is a wonderful light gold. The wine is filtered and has nice purity and brightness which is what you expect from this grape variety. The initial aromas are nuttiness and tree fruit. I smelled toasted almonds and peaches. The toasted almonds compliment the wine and its flavor is likely from sur lie aging (breakdown of the fermentation yeast added to the barrels). Chalk...