Last week, I was part of the Wine Writer’s Educational Tour (WWET) to Willamette Valley in Oregon. Four intensive days of classroom, tasting, touring and wining & dining throughout the northern section of the Willamette Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area). Each day, I would rise at 7:00 am to be on the bus by 8:00 am only to return to the hotel around 11:00 pm. Over these four days, I tasted upwards of 140 different wines from wineries all over the AVA. The wines were mostly Pinot Noir, but we also had a session on Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and…
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Wines weekly are the wine selections that we have tried and enjoyed so much we needed to share them with you.
I dare say there is not an adult in this country that has not eaten a Clif Bar at some point in their life. Thanks to the success of those bars, Clif Family has also ventured into winemaking in Napa Valley. And like anything that they do, they do it incredibly well, and they go big. Many successful wineries in Napa may offer five wines. At Clif Family, I counted 24 on their website. As I said, they go BIG. Clif Family Winery On A Whim During my May of 2018 trip to Napa, we made a last-minute stop at…
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Three White Wines beyond The Big Three If you drink white wine, it is more than likely a Chardonnay, Pinot Gris/Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc. And if you like one of them you probably are not fond of the other two. That is just the way it is as we are conditioned to stick with what we know. But I am here to tell you that there is so much more in the white wine world to be consumed and you are truly missing out on some great juice. I have recently been on a white wine quest, and I wanted…
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A Horse of a Different Color When the Ehlers Estate 2018 Sylviane Rosé was released last Spring, I was super stoked. The 2017 vintage was my #1 favorite wine last year. Everyone I knew that tried this vintage swooned over it. It was a 100% Cabernet Franc rosé that really knocked it out of the park. So with the 2018 vintage released, I was ordering my first case, no problem, with more to follow I was sure. Now I knew that there was a new winemaker at Ehlers. After all, I did run a Q&A with her last fall. (You…
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Edison James Island Klinker Brick Wine Dinner You all know by now that I am a huge fan of wine dinners. The ones I attend tend to cost in the $90 to $125 range including tax and gratuity, although I have seen some advertised for as much as $200 to $300 per person. This occasion was my first wine dinner at Edison James Island. In my experience, wine dinners always sell out, and that makes me very happy. What made this wine dinner so interesting to me is the quality to price ratio (QPR) of the Klinker Brick wines and…
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With the thermometer topping 100 degrees already this Spring, I am sure this is going to be a long and super hot summer. Days like these require quenching, quaffable, and affordable summer sips to help me make it through the next several months. These wine are sold at big box stores, Total Wine, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s. That said they may not be in your area due to lack of distribution in your state. Summer Sips – Sparkler Gruet Brut Rosé NV Who knew that such fantastic and affordable sparkling wines come from New Mexico? They have an…
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I promised you that I would post the remaining six wines that were part of the Croatian & Portuguese Wine Tasting. If you missed that post, you could check it out by clicking on the link. I still think about how much fun we had that evening. Going to wine tastings is the best way to broaden your palate and find new wines to add to your cellar or wine rack. These wines are amazingly affordable and were a big hit at the tasting. Portuguese Wine: Avicella Rosé 2017, Vinho Verde This classic Portuguese wine from Vinho Verde has slight…
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A few weeks ago, I had the honor of attending the Laherte Frères Champagne Dinner at Edmund’s Oast. All of the wine dinners I have gone to at Edmund’s Oast have been a lot of fun as well as great learning experiences. But I was super excited about this one because I have a significant knowledge deficit when it comes to the art of champagne. Since this is one of Sarah O’Kelley’s (the sommelier at Edmund’s Oast), favorite producers, I knew I was in for a treat. Side note: All Champagne is sparkling wine. But all sparkling wine is NOT…
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