Heath Family Wines: Crafting Excellence Across Collections
Heath Family Wines is not a single winery, but a collection of different wineries under one umbrella brand. This wine consortium includes Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Invention Vineyards, and Jenblossom Cellars, each contributing to a diverse range of wines. The people behind Heath Family Wines, Brian, and […]
Family is Purpose of Puppione Family Wines
The most important driver of Puppione Family Wines may surprise you. It’s about Chris Puppione’s dream of becoming a dad and having a family. The story is about honoring and connecting family and creating family traditions. Chris joked to me that it took him a long time to […]
Sixty Years of Reflection in Rodney Strong Refresh
After 60 years of success, many companies sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride – especially if nothing is amiss. But if you have a history of innovation, you decide to rethink everything – looking both forward and backward to figure out how to get positioned for the next 60 […]
SIMI Winery: Tragedy to Triumph
SIMI Winery started with the hard work and persistence of two immigrant brothers. But it continued due to the determination of one 18-year-old girl who would not let tragedy end her family’s legacy. That legacy, shown in this anthology video, carried on for more than a century […]
Cornerstone Cellars’ Winemaker Kari Auringer: Blending Passion and Kindness
Kari Auringer didn’t set out to use her creativity and craftsmanship to make wine at Cornerstone Cellars. Her initial thought, after college graduation in 1981, was that she was cold – very cold – and packed up her Z28 Camero with the goal of move from Wisconsin to anyplace […]
Seven Expressions of One Grape
Theresa Heredia, Winemaker of Gary Farrell Winery, Courtesy of Gary Farrell Winery Pinot Noir is a grape that is not known for being easy. As Natasha Hughes, MW, once said, “When Pinot producers get it right, the wines have it all: gorgeous aromatics, silky texture, bright acidity and supple tannins. What’s […]
Zinfandel Wines to Match Summer BBQ
As the days roll by, often it seems an exercise in same day, different bottle, as we enter our fifth month of pandemic living. What hasn’t changed is our need for community and coming together over great wine and good food. What has changed is the innovation that wineries are showing to bring […]
Smith-Madrone: Humble Beginnings, Unforgettable Wines
Stu Smith, the Enologist and Managing Partner for Smith-Madrone Winery, didn’t set out to own premium real estate valued for upwards of $400,000 an acre. His goal was only to find a site in the mountains of Napa Valley versus the valley floor, to make the elegant, balanced, European-inspired wines he enjoyed. […]
Every Day is Earth Day at Benziger Winery
Every day is earth day at Benziger winery Virtual Tasting Line Up with Benziger Wines This past Earth Day, which was April 22, millions of people around the world will explore ways to help preserve our planet through eco-friendly practices. “Every day is earth day” is the slogan at Benziger Winery and this is […]
From Prohibition to Pandemic: The Mondavi Family’s History of Reinvention
From Prohibition to Pandemic: Mondavi Family’s History of Reinvention Mondavi Sisters: Alycia, Giovanna, Angelina and Riana, Photo Courtesy of the Mondavi Sisters Sitting down with Angelina and Alycia Mondavi from Aloft Wines and Dark Matter Wines, it is clear they understand that in times of a crisis there is opportunity and a time for reinvention. […]
Domaine Anderson Winery: In Pursuit of the American Grand Cru
We began our wine country exploration in Anderson Valley in Mendocino with a tour of Domaine Anderson Winery with Winemaker Darrin Low. In 1981, Jean-Claude Rouzaud of the Louis Roederer family took one look at the remote area and saw its potential in cultivating an American Grand Cru. Prior to Roederer, […]
Storytelling Through A Lens and A Bottle: The Story of Jesse and Andy Katz
Jesse Katz, Winemaker Aperture Cellars and Devil Proof Vineyards A good photographer has an eye for detail that brings all the elements together to convey the right vision. Little did Andy Katz, world-renown photographer, know that his eye for detail in the vineyards would spark a passion for wine for his son, Jesse Katz, […]
One Man’s Quest to Discover His Wine Palate Led to Making His Own Wine
Rob Barney, Vintner, Stressed Vines For Rob Barney, Stressed Vines’ Vintner, drinking wine was once a “safe label” choice. He relied on labels, scores and brand name producers. In 2014, he decided it was time to expand and be more adventurous. Little did he know that would take him down a path of making his own […]
Sonoma: A Day of Diversity at Arista, Passalacqua, Skipstone and Scherrer Wineries: But the Heart of Sonoma Remains Aligned
Our wine trip continued in Sonoma where we spent time at four places– Arista, Passalacqua, Skipstone and Scherrer Wineries. What I loved about Sonoma was my time there showcased the diversity of this region from winemaking styles to customer experience to the philosophy in their tasting rooms. Our first Sonoma stop was […]
Palmaz Winery: The Intersection of Technology and Craft Winemaking
For Julio and Amalia Palmaz, of Palmaz Vineyards, the love affair with wine started after years of regular visits to Napa. Julio was a successful heart surgeon who actually invented the heart stint. When it was time for the next phase for their family, they decided to purchase an old estate in Coombsville in Napa. […]
San Diego – A Region with a Bit of Wild West, A Bit Mad Scientist, But with a Mission to Make Serious Wine
San Diego Wine Country – It’s a juxtaposition of the first wine region in America. It’s a bit Wild West. A bit mad scientist lab. A bit of a pioneering community. It’s exciting and unexpected. It’s underrated and in desperate need of branding. Finally, it’s one of the most interesting regions that I’ve explored in […]
A Deeper Dive into Santa Barbara: Jackson Family Winemakers’ Perspective
Santa Barbara Panelists of Winemakers The winemakers in the room had a combined 100 years of experience. All with different perspectives on how to farm, manage their vineyards and on their winemaking techniques. But they shared a bond and passion for Santa Barbara and a common owner – Jackson Family Wines. This was the […]
A Conversation with John Concannon: 135 Years of Pioneering California Cabernet Sauvignon
Me hanging with John Concannon Last month, I had a chance to sit down with a member of the fourth generation of a storied wine family with a long resume of making California’s wine industry what it is today. John Concannon is part of a family of wine pioneers at Concannon Vineyard. For 135 years, the […]
Christopher Creek and Foppoli Wines: A Welcome Addition to the Dallas Market Coming to A Restaurant Near You
As a card carrying Italian family member (unfortunately from one family who made really awful wine as I post today from Rome after several days of Tuscan wine country), I love a successful Italian wine story. And that’s what you have from the Foppoli family. The Foppoli family has been making boutique wines in California […]
Generations in a Glass: Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Charles Krug Winery
Riana and Peter Mondavi Jr When Peter Mondavi celebrates a milestone, it is always done with pomp and circumstance with a focus on family. But when prepares for a family milestone — the 75th anniversary – how do you truly showcase what has happened over the generations? In Peter’s case, you take the show on […]
Murrieta’s Well: Legacy Built on Iconic Vines Maintained Grape-By-Grape
I recently had my second opportunity to taste with Robbie Meyer from Murrieta’s Well, one of Livermore Valley’s most iconic wineries. My first time was online during a Snooth tasting with Snooth’s Chief Taster Mark Angelillo, and Robbie, where we tasted six wines. Click here for more info. This time I had the pleasure of […]
A Conversation with Tom Gamble: Preserving a Family, Farming and a Legacy
A Conversation with Tom Gamble: Preserving a Family, Farming and a Legacy It’s been about 18 months since I last had the chance to sit down with Tom Gamble, Owner of Gamble Family Cellars, yet constants remained. Tom Gamble remains a farmer first. He talked about never remembering a time when “there wasn’t dust in […]
Final 2017 Sample Update: The Top 30 That Turned My Head in this Tasting
It looks like I have a New Year Resolution and that’s to get a little faster about reporting on the samples that I’m sent. This time I reviewed more than 65 wines and today I’m going to talk about more than 30 that made the list. Note that these encompass a number of countries, price […]
Domaine Drouhin and Jordan Family Tasting & A Closer Look at Cameron Hughes
Art by Vino Mosaics This week’s wine column focuses on multiple samples that came from two families that are considered to be stalwarts in wine – the Drouhin family and the Jordan family. It also covers Cameron Hughes, a man who took a different approach by not having his own vineyards, but by finding interesting […]