Time for Zin
Our warm weather disappeared. How disappointing. So to lift my spirits, I dug around in the basement for something bigger and red. Nothing like a bottle of Zin, my first red wine love, to brighten and warm up a day. Tonight I chose the 2007 Talty Filice Connolly Vineyards Zinfandel, which we picked up on...
Oh yummy!
*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample. I originally tasted this wine for a Taste Live event late last year, but the kind folks at Benziger sent 2 bottles in case something was off with one. So I stuck the 2nd bottle into the pile ‘o wine (aka my basement) and figured I’d get...
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Peter Luger Steak House, New York
When you’ve been serving steaks since 1887, you’ve probably learned a thing or two. The legend of Peter Luger in Brooklyn hangs over most steakhouses in the world like a godlike presence. Observe, salivate, copy, hope. No matter the rumours of crusty service, the fact I had to make 23 (yes, twenty three) phone calls...
Cakebread Cellars Dinner at Vinifera Bistro
Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro is one of the most underrated wine bars in the region. The food is consistently excellent and wine list is phenomenal. Jason, the manager of Vinifera, has a lot of contacts in the wine industry and those contacts are refle...
Wine Tasting Video: Bordeaux-ish wines from France, Chile, California & South Africa
Vallée Blanche Malbec 2010, Pays d’Oc, France (£7.49 Majestic) Reasonable violet-scented plummy fruit and soft spice, but the muddy vanilla character from use of oak destroys the delicate flavours – think of someone with too much foundation… C+...
Quick Sip: Francis Coppola 2009 Claret
Hello Friends,
Today’s Quick Sip is the Francis Coppola Diamond Collection 2009 Claret [Cabernet Sauvignon]. Claret is the name Francis Coppola uses for the flagship wine in their Diamond Collection brand (created in 1996). The intent of the Franci...
Intelligent?
*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery. Very much so. At least, that’s my opinion of the 2007 Wesley Ashley Intelligent Design Cuvee. We popped the cork (real) on this 13.8% alcohol by volume wine that retails for $38 on a Saturday evening to enjoy with roast lamb. The wine is...
Quick Sip: James Family Cellars 2010 Chardonnay
Hello Friends,
Last week on Cellars of Sonoma TV Tuesday, host Scott Jordan welcomed special guest Jeff James of James Family Cellars. Jeff, along with his wife Judy, own and operate this micro-boutique Sonoma County winery that focuses on small-lot...
Old-School California Cabernet, XVIII: Sequoia Grove Cambium 2007
The cambium is the sheath of cells that lies between the bark and inner wood of any woody plant that transports water and nutrients from roots to the canopy of leaves. Appropriately, then, Sequoia Grove named its new, limited edition cabernet sauvignon-based wine after this essential anatomical feature not only of trees but of grapevines....
Swirls: China’s wine frenzy, Bill Foley’s growing wine empire, what sommeliers like to drink
SWIRL: The New York Times has an interesting piece today on the fast-growing French expat community in China, particularly Hong Kong, which, with its growing wealth and hunger for luxury goods, is drawing more and more wine and other entrepreneurs eag...
Getting Friendly with Pinot
*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Krutz Family Cellars to participate in a Twitter Taste Live. What I really love about Twitter Tastings is discovering wineries that I was not familiar with. Over the last year I was lucky to participate in several tasting involving Krutz Family Cellars. I am in love. ...
