July 14, 2016
2013 Rock Wall Wine Company The Palindrome (Tannat) California (Retail $30) Winemaker – Shauna Rosenblum Few people know what a Tannat wine grape is and when they do the first response is “better have a steak to go with that”. The reason why is Tannat wines typically have a high amount of tannins. Well, Rock Wall winemaker Shauna Rosenblum produces a Tannat that is both a “cocktail” wine and a “food” wine. Due to the when this wine is harvested and then fermented there are no...
July 11, 2016
2014 Hans Wirsching Scheurebe Franken (Germany) Retail: $22 Winemaker: Dr. Heinrich Wirsching Is the Scheurbe varietal grape as a Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc? The two varietals are kissing cousins of one another. We were introduced to this wine by Sommelier Tami Wong (Mess Hall in San Diego and Best New Sommelier of the Year 2014 by Wine and Spirits Magazine). She said to think of this wine as a “round Sauvignon Blanc” despite it being a Riesling in its DNA. Our research says it is a...
July 06, 2016
2012 Lazarre Albarino Edna Valley Retail: $22 Winemaker: Adam Lazarre Sometimes people say the winemaker makes the grapes better while some say the grapes make the winemaker better. Here it is both. Meeting Adam Lazarre is an experience in itself and his wines are also to be experienced. He produces a 100% Albarino wine which are grapes primarily found in Spain. Edna Valley which is in San Luis Obispo County has success with this varietal grape. Think of an Albarino wine as an alternative to...
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...