Reviews of wines and spirits for the curious drinker.
Doyle Hinman and David Smith opened Hinman Vineyards in 1979. By 1988, the winery had become Oregon’s top selling winery. In 1993, Hinman started releasing their premium line of reserve wines under the Silvan Ridge label, relegating Hinman to second-tier status.
“This weekend is not about me. It is about you. I’m gonna show you a good time. We’re gonna drink a lot of good wine. We’re gonna play some golf. We’re gonna eat some great food and enjoy the scenery and we are going to send you off in style, mon frere.” And so Miles and Jack set off on their most excellent adventure in Sideways, the 2004 film that by some accounts was single-handedly responsible for a 10% increase in sales of pinot noir.
Continue reading “Leaping Lizard Pinot Noir and Willow Crest Viognier”
Salmon Soufflé
There are few things as elegant, or as easy to make, as a soufflé. My stepdaughter and her partner dropped by for Christmas, and he mentioned that, even though he is 45, he had never had a savory soufflé, much less made one. I assured him it was really simple, so I whipped up one with salmon.
Migration Russian River Valley Chardonnay and Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Duckhorn Portfolio is the umbrella corporation of an expanding wine mini-empire. First came the flagship Duckhorn Vineyards, established in 1976 by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn to pioneer and feature premium Napa Merlot. (Duckhorn has a “second growth” label named Decoy, as well.) Next came Paraduxx in 1994, specializing in Zinfandel-based blends. This was followed by Goldeneye, which began making Pinot Noir in 1996. Migration was established in 2001 to focus first on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The Russian River AVA sits in the center of northern California’s Sonoma County, and is characterized by a generally cool climate, with sunny days bracketed by fog early and late. This encourages the slow-ripening of fruit, particularly suitable for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc, like these selections from Mossback Winery.
Truchard Vineyards
Truchard Vineyards was established in 1974, when native Texans Tony and Jo Ann Truchard purchased a 20-acre parcel of land in Carneros. They transformed what was an abandoned prune orchard into a vineyard, and began selling the fruit to a local winery. Because of the difficult clay soil he had to work with, as well as a dearth of groundwater, Truchard was one of the early adapters of drip irrigation, a practice that was used in Israel for desert farming but not known in California yet. The Truchard Estate Vineyard has since grown to 400 acres, of which 280 are planted.
Since its founding in 1974 by Damaris Deere Ford, great-great granddaughter of John Deere, Landmark Vineyards has called Sonoma County home. Originally located in Windsor, California, in 1989 Landmark moved to the heart of Sonoma valley to escape the encroaching urbanization to the north.