Gold in the Fields- The Very Reserved Napa Valley Reserve
Filed under Wine
Gold in the Fields
The Very Reserved Napa Valley Reserve
By Dennis Myers
Photography by Colin Michael
Gazing wistfully over a field of wine vines basking in the warm sun of Napa Valley, you can’t help imagining yourself as a wine baron overlooking your fields of gold clad in dusty but custom-crafted work boots, tastefully wrinkled chinos with a rugged [...]
Regional Wine Information Found Here!
Filed under Wine
Want to check out a new wine region or learn more about the area which produced your most recent favorite bottle? From Temecula to Puget Sound, discover the wide variety of wine regions by exploring these links.
Amador Vintner’s Association
Anderson Valley Winegrowers
Carneros Wine Alliance
Finger Lakes Wine Country
Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission
Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association
Napa Valley Vintners
Orange [...]
“Picking Grapes in an Abandoned Vineyard” by Larry Levis
An excerpt of a poem by Larry Levis, available here and here.
Scroll down to access slideshow.
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Picking grapes alone in the late autumn sun—
A short, curved knife in my hand,
Its blade silver from so many sharpenings,
Its handle black.
I still have a scar where a friend
Sliced open my right index finger, once,
In a cutting shed—
The same [...]
Fin du Fresne travels around the world with Pinot Noir
Filed under Wine
by Fin du Fresne
From a winemaking perspective, Pinot Noir is in the midst of an exciting transition between traditional Burgundian approaches and new world innovations that help winemakers produce high quality and unique wines. New world winemakers are now beginning to understand how to make the best Pinot Noir from their vineyards rather than simply [...]
David Masi considers Chardonnay 3.0
by David Masi
Chardonnay is a strange animal in the United States. To some, it suggests the essence of classiness and comfort: with a glass of Chardonnay and some cheese, the world is good. Many beginning wine drinkers start with Chardonnay as they initiate their journey through the world of wine. For others, Chardonnay is a [...]
Wes Hagen’s perspective on Chardonnay
Filed under Wine
by Wes Hagen
Sorry Riesling, but Chardonnay is the most expressive and complex white wine varietal in the world. The main problem for this noble grape is that it is also cultivated as a more humble commodity wine, which tends to blur the boundaries for some between the common Chardonnays and the elite ones. Chardonnay is [...]
Ken Volk with a Portrait of the Sierra Madre Vineyard
Filed under Wine
by Ken Volk
The Sierra Madre Vineyard is located in the Santa Maria Valley of Santa Barbara County. Originally established in 1971, this unique property consistently produces some of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in California. It was the source of my first professional wine bottling—a Pinot Noir in 1983—at my first winery, Wild Horse. [...]
Ortman Family Musings on Chardonnay
Filed under Wine
by Chuck and Matt Ortman
It has become fashionable in some circles to subscribe to the “ABC” school of white wine—as in, Anything But Chardonnay. A certain backlash against Chardonnay was inevitable, as is the case with anything that becomes wildly popular. But there is a reason why Chardonnay remains California’s dominant white wine. When done [...]
Kyle Meyer on Great Grower Champagne
by Kyle Meyer
Fear. It permeates the air when you walk into a fine wine shop or peruse the extensive wine list of a top-notch restaurant. Fear of the unknown. Fear of intimidating French verbiage. Fear of paying a high price for something you may not have heard of before. Although the big Champagne houses feed [...]
Rick Moshin on Gravity Flow Winemaking and Pinot Noir
by Rick Moshin
While far from a new practice, gravity flow winemaking seems to have experienced a resurgence over the last decade or so in the United States. Before pumps and power, the most efficient way to move wine from vessel to vessel was to use the natural force of gravity and a nice slope. You [...]
