Reviews of wines and spirits for the curious drinker.
The brothers Dragonette (John, the elder, and Steve, the younger) and close friend Brandon Sparks-Gillis, after having met and worked together at Wally’s, a renowned wine shop in Los Angeles, founded Dragonette Cellars in 2005. They did so in the climatic and soil diversity of the wild, windy, and remote northern Santa Barbara County. “We …
Chalk Hill Pinot Noir and Chardonnay I’m obviously a wine enthusiast, and with my wife will drink all or most of a full bottle of wine with dinner just about every night. However, you may enjoy less wine with your meals. If so, consider 375 mL half bottles. They are also handy if you want …
Rütz Proprietor’s Reserve Chardonnay 2018 Keith Rütz’s first career track was in the fashion industry. He was the proprietor of two trendy clothing boutiques located near the UC Berkeley campus. To search out the latest styles, he frequently travelled to both London and Paris. It was in France where he began to develop his love …
Kokonor Cabernet Sauvignon There are many ways to buy wine: at a wine shop or liquor store, at a grocery store, or through a winery’s wine club, among others. There is another option that I use on occasion. These are online “flash sites” that offer one or even a few different bottles for sale per …
Many years ago, while driving through Sonoma County, Arturo Keller and his wife Deborah came upon a piece of property overlooking the Petaluma River with a tremendous view and expansive terrain. Keller, a passionate antique car collector and native of Mexico, purchased the 50-acre parcel in 1982. He soon had a paved road built that …
Today is Earth Day, first held on April 22, 1970. An ideal moment to examine Scheid Family Wines, a producer deeply committed to earth-friendly practices (an enthusiasm shared by more and more winemakers every year, fortunately). Scheid Family Wines got their start in 1972 when Al Scheid first purchased property in Monterey County and wine …
Lachini Vineyards Proprietor Ron Lachini’s family hails from the Tuscan town of Lucca. At some point, his grandfather immigrated to the United States, settling in the large Italian community of San Francisco’s North Beach. He started making wine with his father and grandfather in their garages as a child. He and his wife Marianne both …
March is Women’s History Month, and an apt time to feature winemaker Katy Wilson, one of the few but growing number of women in the wine industry. Wilson founded LaRue Wines in 2009 when she was just 26, but already had years of experience. For Wilson, there was never a “Plan B” career path. She …
Rescue Dog Wines Founded in 2017 by Blair and Laura Lott, Rescue Dog Wines has an unusual and commendable mission: a generous 50% of their profits go to rescue dog organizations across the country. The Lotts explained that they started planning a new life in wine country around 2015. “We knew that we wanted to …
Varietal-specific Wine Glasses – Episode #9 My second guest on the Winervana podcast is me! My long-time friend Rob Young sits in the host’s chair, and we talk about varietal-specific stemware made by Riedel, and why you should consider buying some of these glasses. You can see images of the stemware here. The video of …
Continue reading “Episode #9 – Varietal-specific Wine Glasses”
Yet another white-collar professional turned winery owner, Randy Wulff was an attorney for 20 years. After graduating from the Honors College at the University of Oregon and Hastings College of the Law, he worked as a successful trial lawyer and mediator at a law firm in San Francisco. “Even when I was one of the …
Grilled Tuna Steaks If you don’t like fish, this is the fish recipe for you. If you do like fish, especially tuna, this is definitely the recipe for you. It was published by the great Pierre Franey (1921 – 1996) in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune in August of 1992. It may well …
Brutocao Cellars Irv Bliss’ early years as a farmer were occupied with growing pears, prunes, walnuts, and a large family garden just outside of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County, California. Although successful, for years Bliss nursed the vision of planting a vineyard in Mendocino, which he believed to be one of the best places around to …
Continue reading “Brutocao Quadriga Red Blend and Brutocao Chardonnay”
x Author Jack London (1876 – 1916) was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. A pioneer of unabashedly commercial fiction in both novels and magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. His most famous works include The Call of the …
Trefethen Vineyards The pioneering Trefethen Family Vineyards is truly a rarity in the Napa Valley: a winery that grows, vinifies, and ages all of its wines entirely on the property, and has been helmed by a single family for three generations. The area in which Trefethen is located is one of the oldest in Napa …