You have started to enjoy wine, but the thought of buying a whole bottle makes you freak out a bit inside.
Don’t fret. I’ve been drinking wine for years and I’m still intimidated and overwhelmed by the wine choices available. It’s almost too much! Continue reading
While shopping for wine on my birthday at Sunfish Cellars here in Saint Paul, one of the guys in the shop recommended I try the Robert Hall Viognier.
For those not familiar, Robert Hall is a winery in Paso Robles, California. Now, I consider this to be part of southern California, technically, it’s central California. Pretty much everything south of Santa Cruz is SoCal to me. Let’s put it this way, what baseball games are on the radio when you are in Paso Robles? It’s not the Giants or the A’s. Continue reading
Wine in the movies, it does happen. I’m not talking about drinking wine in the theater, but there are places where that happens. I’m talking about movies about wine.
Wine and adventure, the two go hand in hand. Last week, I decided to branch out of my usual wine realm and bought a Matello Chardonnay
People have asked me, do you like red wine or white wine?
My answer, “Yes.”
Why must we divide ourselves into two factions? Why is there a red wine vs white wine debate? I understand that there are some people who do prefer one over the other. I, myself, like both and will drink wine based on various things, mood, weather, mood, cravings, mood, meals,…did I say mood? Continue reading
While I like both red and white, I do have some favorites. My favorite red? Tempranillo. What is tempranillo? I’m so glad you asked…even though you didn’t.
It’s flavor just speaks to me…ok that sounded pretentious. It doesn’t have a bite like some red wines. It has that interesting berry flavor which fancy people call cassis, but I call black currant. OK, I can also taste the plum. Yay plum! Continue reading
I’m not sure how I found this wine from the Monterey/Carmel Valley region of California, but am I happy I did. Sadly, I haven’t been to this winery, but their website had a really cool map showing the different viticultural areas in the Monterey area. I’ve been to Monterey several times. It’s just wonderful. Then again, most of the California coast is wonderful. It’s funny, but a good wine smells like a hutch that used to be my great-great grandmother’s. For some reason, that piece of antique furniture smells like a good wine. So, what is Cabernet Sauvignon? Aside from red wine, obviously. But according to Wikipedia (sorry for the reference), it’s one of the most widely recognized red wine grape varieties in the world. Apparently, some time in the 17th century someone (a monk?) happened to cross a Cabernet Franc with a Sauvignon Blanc (both great wines) and voila! A delicious grape was born. Continue reading
Yes, I am guilty of doing some things with wine that would make certain people gasp. Please, learn from my mistakes. Like your parents told you, do as I say not as I do…yeah, I know. It doesn’t work.
Are there any other wine no-no’s that should be on this or future lists?
Have you ever wanted to take a trip to a winery or two, but aren’t sure what to expect? Here are a five wine tasting tips to help you feel more comfortable and have a good time: Continue reading
When most people think of California wines, they immediately think of Napa. Some even know about Sonoma County, which is right next door to Napa County. What most people don’t know is that hidden in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains is Amador County and its wine.
The Amador County wine making area has some of the best wines I’ve ever tasted. Granted, my palate isn’t that refined, but I know what I like. The area is known for Barbera, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Vioginer. I’ve also had some great Tempranillo, Mourvedre, and Primitivo…not to mention a lovely Sauvignon Blanc or two.