Exploring the menu of life.
I still remember when I set eyes on Oregon’s wine country, Willamette Valley. It smelled of perfumey Pinot Noir… wafting up through the vineyards, wineries and through my hotel window. It was harvest of 2007 and I fell in love. With Oregon Pinot Noir. The love continues to this day.
Willamette ... Read More »
It’s damn hard finding a Pinot Noir worth drinking under $20. Really, really hard. Some might even say under $30 is challenging, but I’m not that hard core. But forget under $15… it’s normally sweetened grape juice with a touch of earthiness likely added in with wood chips. ... Read More »
It strikes most wine drinkers at some point in their wine paths: Pinot passion. The multi-dimensional, seductiveaspects of this finicky, oft-loved grape are difficult to avoid. And, when it happens, all you can do is succumb to its wiles and enjoy the comfort it brings. Mendocino County, a wine region ... Read More »
As a general rule, wines embellished with a celebrity name aren’t particularly well made. Relying on their fame to sell the wine, they siphon schlock into a bottle and call it a profitable day. (Read my blast of this trend from a few years ago.) But I have admit that the pop group Train at ... Read More »
I have a confession to make: Although I live in the fortuitous California wine country, it’s pretty rare that I visit tasting rooms. I remember back before I relocated to Sonoma County from Florida, I would ask friends who lived here what tasting rooms I should visit. I sought out the small, ... Read More »
The hunt for an affordable, everyday Pinot Noir just might be over. It’s not a coincidence that it hails from Oregon, the temperate vacation home for this finicky grape. But A to Z Wineworks isn’t your normal, everyday winery… they don’t have a physical location where you can ... Read More »
The ubiquitous rep of Pinot Grigio is legendary. Grown in Italy for centuries and quaffed at many a trattoria by the ceramic pitcher-full, this humble grape actually bears French roots, not Italian. Pinot Gris is the name elsewhere in the world, from France’s Alsace region to Australia to New Zealand. ... Read More »
I’ve finally comes to terms with the fact that I’m a Pinot-lovin’ woman. Call me an acid freak, but I just can’t sit down with only a glass (and no food), pop a cork on a Cabernet Sauvignon and enjoy the hell out of the experience. Nope, won’t happen. Too assaulting. ... Read More »
Much fanfare surrounds the 2009 vintage of Pinot Noirs in northern California. Nature bestowed the ideal blend of rain and sun to create a blanket of perfectness for this very finicky grape. It ain’t easy satisfying this LA housewife of a fruit, but 2009 delivered the goods. Stock up now as ... Read More »
King Estate specializes in Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, and that’s what I’ve been sipping on these past eight years since I met them. Still family-owned — like most wineries in Oregon — they’ve expanded their horizons with their other, more affordable (and still tasty) ... Read More »
Even generic, corporate-owned wineries like Estancia can make good wine if they have great fruit from Monterey, specifically their Pinnacles Ranch vineyard. And another thing corporate wineries have to offer is lower prices. Like under $15 for a pretty decent Pinot.
... Read More »Melissa Stackhouse, a fantastically talented Pinot and Chardonnay winemaker, was recently promoted at Kendall Jackson (who owns La Crema Winery) to Pinot Noir Winemaster for all of Jackson Family Wines. I’m not surprised since her gorgeous creations continue to overdeliver for the price. I’ll ... Read More »