Blogs

The title says it all – "Bordeaux World Heritage & Its Wines."

Josh Cellars, by Joseph Carr, proves two things:  a winemaker doesn’t have to have a vineyard or a winery to produce excellent wines, and second labels can be intoxicatingly delicious values. 

Joseph Carr embraces his designation as “the negociant of Napa Valley”.  A “negociant” is a wine merchant who assembles either the grapes or the wine of smaller growers and winemakers, and sells the product under its own name.  Mr. Carr uses the Larson Family Vineyards’ facilities in Sonoma, California to m

Morocco may not be the first country that comes to mind when contemplating the world's greatest wine regions. But despite its large Islamic population, Morocco has historically been a prolific wine producing country. As far back as 2,500 years ago, this part of North Africa completed an arc of wine growing regions spanning the Mediterranean weaving through Italy, Greece, Turkey.

Truth be told, Morocco saved France's ass during the late 19th century phylloxera devastation. French growers immigrate

Why is it that small towns seem to possess a sense of place and taste all their own that a big city just can’t compete with?  Don’t you love it when you stroll a city’s downtown area poking your head into one place, sampling cuisine from another place …and you immediately get the feeling that you’ve arrived at a very special destination? And don’t you get a big kick out of the unique attractions that only a small town can offer?  You know what I think? Hurray for small town America… and giant Di

The 2011 Champagne harvest has begun. With the combination of early flowering, low rain levels in the spring, and abundance of summer sun has led to one of the earliest picking seasons since 1822, the Champagne Bureau said today.

The three prominent planted grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, are being hand-harvested across the region with favorable weather forecasts for the next few days.

"As we celebrate another successful harvest from this unique region, we are remind

It was truly a Bella Notte—a “beautiful night” at the Europa Village Winery in the Temecula Valley Wine Country in Southern California, where the winery’s first musical, internationally-themed wine dinner of the fall season took place recently. Europa holds these wine pairing dinners occasionally and they are always exceptional events.

We were with friends from Nebraska who had never before experienced the magic of a wine country evening with such luscious food, exquisite wine, and musical entert

Walking upward on steep cobbled lanes through the village of Lugano Switzerland still enshrouded by morning mists rising from Lago di Lugano is certainly one of life's finer ways to get a workout. If you're up for even more climbing (or a short cab ride), include a visit to Fattoria Moncucchetto, Lugano’s only urban winery.

On a narrow plateau carved out high above the village with breathtaking lake views, family-run Fattoria Moncucchetto sources their base Merlot grapes from a tiny 2.5 acres ons

Five decades ago, my Louisiana grandmother traveled to Wynola, minutes from Julian, to find one of her favorite, and rare, treats: pickled pig’s feet.  Now, we can go to Jeremy’s on the Hill for gourmet, farm to table, house made pork sausage, pancetta, and other delectable meals.

Le Cordon Bleu

Cordon Bleu dining is heralded by the crest on the sign at Jeremy's on the Hill (www.jeremysonthehill.com), on Hwy 78 in Wynola, 4 miles north of Julian, California.  Chef Jeremy Manly brings gourmet farm

Sit back for a moment and imagine yourself in your favorite vacation spot. Whether it’s at your local swimming hole kicking back in a lounger with the ultimate trashy novel or a dream excursion throughout Italy, you deserve some R&R. Here are some wines for wherever your adventures take you:

Butterfly Kiss Pinot Grigio 2011

Sourced from select California vineyards graced with sun-soaked afternoons and cool, fog-shrouded evenings, Pinot Grigio grapes used in this Butterfly Kiss showcase ripe sugar

Well…I am impressed.  America’s first wine country not only boasts some solid wines, but also has its very own state grape glass – the Riedal Crystal Norton Wine Glass. Hardly anyone gets that, let alone a small wine district in the middle of the country.   I had a chance to taste some great wines in that glass and spend a few days in Lake of the Ozarks and Columbia, Missouri, hanging out at some great wineries, tasting and talking with owners, winemakers, and chefs. If you’re headed to the Midw

During this month occours the XI Wines Contest of Peninsula of Setúbal. Organized by a local association has the presence of the major 25 top producers and almost 100 wines in contest.

All the wines (red, whites, rose), Liqueurs and the amazing Moscatels (several brands) are produced on the Portugal Dream Coast, region of Setúbal. More information concerning to the Region of Setúbal. The final awards will be delivered on the next 17th May. 

The Thornton Winery in Temecula, CA is home to one of California’s longest running concert series. In fact, this year is the 25th anniversary of the Champagne Jazz Series. As you would expect, this summer’s lineup features some of the biggest and most popular of today’s Jazz performers (Dave Koz, Spyro Gyra, Kenny G, George Benson, Chris Botti, Boz Scaggs, etc.) I’ve enjoyed at least one concert at this intimate venue each of the last three summers and have been inspired by guitar god Lee Rite

Ooh, ooh, ooh -- how I love discovering underappreciated wine regions.  The next best one just might be (it certainly gets my vote)Santa Barbara County’s Santa Rita Hills. Located about 30 minutes from Santa Barbara, think Highway 246 off the 101 Freeway and the cities of Buellton, Lompoc and Los Olivos.  Total acreage is 30,720 acres.  About 2,500 acres are planted in wine grapes. The appellation is spelled Sta. Rita Hills on the  wine labels so as not to step on the toes of the Santa Rita wine

To fully appreciate a wine is to be intimately familiar with its geographical origins and vinicultural heritage. Wines from France's Roussillon region certainly exemplify this truism. Vineyards are surrounded by 3 mountain ranges yielding wide topographical variety and soils with the Corbières to the North, the Pyrenees with Mont Canigou to the West, and the Albères to the South while to the east ocean and mountains meet below on the Pyrénées-Orientales…widely referred to as an amphitheater to t

Sweet wine, traditional wine, the best contribution wine magazine, some wine promoter and even wine software, where else would you imagine you can find the whole thing about wine, none other than in Wine Country Tour, California. This Northern California region is considered as world-renowned wine-growing region in the United States. The Golden State has been producing wine nearly more than 200 years, since the days of the early Spanish missionaries. From Mendocino to Santa Barbara, California b

You really can't get more family-run than Conway Family Wines...Chris and Ann Conway along with their 5 children Gareth (President), John, Sally, Tom (VP Business Development), Gillian (VP Communications) all share ownership in the winery producing a tasty trio of Deep Sea varietals. Being small scale and tight knit allows them to use sustainable agricultural and vineyard practices not only to produce great tasting grapes but to effectively preserve their historic Rancho Arroyo Grande property.

I have tasted Fonseca ports before but was intrigued when I recently experienced an unfiltered variety coming from Portugal’s most widely respected port house. Upon tasting Fonseca Unfiltered Port, you get nothing less than rich black fruit that’s pleasantly flavorful with hints of spice and sweet plum along with just enough tannins to keep it from entirely entering dessert wine territory.

It takes decades of perfecting Portugal’s national treasure to achieve this tasty balance. How does this unf

Every bottle of wine or liquor I can think of has a label. Many times the label simply indicates the contents with a brief description of origin and flavor. But sometimes, labels go beyond the basic requirements with a higher purpose. Campari and Fonseca Bin 27 Port are two brands with labels promoting indigenous art.

Campari

Campari's art label is very fiery...vibrant! And this most accurately portrays what's inside the bottle. This spirit can be sipped straight, but when mixed in classic cockta

As the Spanish wine industry has grown and deepened in complexity in the past couple of decades well beyond Andalusia’s traditional sherries, oenophiles the world over have become increasingly familiar with names like Rioja, Penedés, and Rias Baixas. But to many, Majorca's Plà i Llevant and Binissalem-Mallorca might still require a wee bit of explaining.

Winemaking an Ancient Local Tradition

Actually, winemaking in the Balearic Islands goes back to Roman Hispania, a century before Christ (th