Ask 10 people to recommend red wine for a good hearty ribeye steak and 8 of them will tell you, “Go with a Cabernet Sauvignon.” It is the most grown grape variety in the world. It’s got the high tannins (that bitterness) that goes really well with steak. It is going to be your safe …
Four Creative Wine Pairing Choices for Your Juicy Steak Read More »
Until recently, I wasn’t a Pinot Noir guy. It’s not that I didn’t like it. It’s just that I liked other varieties more. Pinot Noir is my wife’s favorite red. That should be reason enough to make it the theme for the month, right? Well as I’ve tasted more and more, I’m kind of – …
CNN’s February article headline announced, “The Price of Wine Is Dropping Fast.” This is good news for us wine drinkers. So I’m with the line in the CNN article line that says, “Let’s raise our glasses and toast to cheaper wine.” What’s behind the drop? There is a surplus of grapes in California, with it …
It’s hard to believe that California, now recognized as an elite wine producer, was not much of anything back in the ’70s. Watch the movie Bottle Shock staring Alan Rickman and Chris Pine and you get a Hollywood version of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 (known as the Judgement of Paris) “What is that?” …
Is Napa’s Wine Growing Success That Recent a Thing? Read More »
While visiting Napa with our friends, the Kitchura’s, they mentioned that we should take a drive along Silverado Trail. It’s a really pretty drive. It’s a road off the main Napa drag with a lot wineries you’d likely recognize. Then my godson, who had recently been in Napa, messaged me recommending that we drop by …
You watch people who know wine taste wine and they look kind of funny. They spend a lot of time looking and it and smelling it. If you ask them, “How is it?” they’ll tell you, “Hold on. I’m not there yet.” “Not there yet? What’s the point of drinking wine if you’re not drinking …
We held a tasting featuring Bodega Santa Christina from Chile and one of the wines was a Carménère. I had never heard of it before, but it’s Chile’s premier grape. It does really well there. So is this a native Chilean grape that no one else has thought to grow. Heck no!. Let me tell …
Where Ever Did That Chilean Carménère Come From? Read More »
Watch this “Sideways” movie clip where the main character Miles’, played superbly by Paul Giamatti, describes the Pinot grape. His obsession with Pinot in the movie boosted Pinot Noir wine sales. Let’s use this as springboard for cover Pinot Noir wine growing regions. Pinot Noir grapes produce super wine. So why doesn’t everyone grow …
Why Are You Into Pinots? It’s Like a Thing With You Read More »
Wine makers typically recommend you let your red wine breathe some time before drinking. It gives the wine time to “open up” as they say to get you the best flavor possible. A traditional way to do that is to open the bottle, pour it into a decanter and wait. Decanters, because of their shape, …
My wife, Any Tere, and I were visiting good friends and Casual Winers, Andrew and Kathy Kitchura in Sacramento a few weeks back. The trip included a super drive over to Napa which is an hour and a half from them. In February, we’ll be covering all we experienced while there and so much we …
