Lombardi Wines Continues a Family’s Legacy

    Tony Lombardi can be described in one word – humble. He’s a brilliant storyteller especially when he’s talking about the wineries he represents for his marketing consulting company or the charity his family founded to support college athlete mental health in honor of his nephew and godson. But if you have the chance, […]

SIMI Winery: Tragedy to Triumph

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 […]

Longevity Wines – A Lasting Love Story

Longevity Wines

            Growing up, Founder and Winemaker Phil Long of Longevity Wines didn’t have much exposure to wine other than his dad’s ornamental bottle of Chianti. He told me that he didn’t even know that wine was made in America. To him, agriculture was focused on plants and animals – not […]

Tasting History with the Women of Bacigalupi Vineyards

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      The Women of Bacigalupi Vineyards, Photo Credit: Bacigalupi Vineyards   Bacigalupi Vineyards is one of the best kept secrets in the Russian River Valley. You may have heard the story of a 1976 tasting in which a California chardonnay gained world recognition by beating French burgundy wines in a side-by-side competition. That […]

Jon Larson: Returning Home to Angwin Estate

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    Jon Larson, Proprietor and Winemaker of Angwin Estate Vineyards, Photo Courtesy of Angwin Estates Jon Larson is the epitome of the modern day Renaissance Man  – the precision required with his medical background; the discipline of a former state championship team rugby player and the sensory analysis and experimentation of his winemaker job […]

Virginia is for Wine Lovers: A Mix of History, Diversity and Great Wine

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This October, I had the opportunity to attend the Virginia Wine Harvest Party, which was a two-day whirlwind media tour that was held in conjunction with Virginia Wine Month, the longest running state wine month.  As I mentioned before, it had been 7 years since I visited the region.  I had heard some great buzz […]

A Conversation with Tom Gamble: Preserving a Family, Farming and a Legacy

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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 […]

Samples that Inspire a Rallying Cry Moment

  As a wine blogger, I get a lot of samples and I am very grateful to have the chance to try the amount of samples I do.  But occasionally, there are wines that when I open the box I drop my “professionalism” and I am sure you might hear an involuntarily “whoo hoo” rallying […]

A Pre-Trip to Sonoma: Day One to Lambert Bridge Winery

Pre-Trip to Sonoma

Cindy Rynning, me and Jennifer Higgins, Lambert Bridge Winemaker It’s amazing how the world and your intentions can change quickly.  Cindy Rynning and I started planning our trip to Sonoma prior to the 2017 Wine Blogger’s Conference with the intent of visiting some boutique wineries, telling their stories and trying out some new social media […]

How A Bottle of Troon Almost Landed Me In A Mexican Jail

Six Years of Transformation at Troon Vineyards

Those of you who know me, and/or Craig Camp from Troon Vineyards, know that we have a history of going rogue – especially when we are given restrictions that make no sense.  Leo Durocher, the professional baseball player, once said, “I believe in rules.  Sure I do.  If there weren’t any rules, how could you […]

Ninety Years of Pedroncelli Wines: A Toast to Family, Wisdom and Consistency

Ninety Years of Pedroncelli Wines

Ninety Years of Pedroncelli Wines: A Toast to Family, Wisdom and Consistency It’s been over three week since I embarked on my experience with the Pedroncelli family and I am no closer to being able to bring to life the amazing journey that I experienced.  In an over sanitized, over marketed, over messaged world; trying […]

Pedroncelli Celebrates 90 Years: A Legacy of Farming, Fun and Flagships

Pedroncelli Celebrates 90 Years

Pedroncelli Celebrates 90 Years: A Legacy of Farming, Fun and Flagships Ninety years ago, it all started with a goal of three pillars – farming, fun and flagships – with flagships being the Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon wines Pedroncelli is known for producing.  That was recently reinforced on a Twitter virtual tasting.  However, I think […]

Vinitaly: A Glimpse of Verona, Varietals, Vineyards and Vinology

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How do you create stories about an event where more than 4,000 wineries were present, each serving an average of 6 to 10 wines over a three-day period?  Some you plan, some you experience, some are pre-arranged … and some stories are just meant to be told.  The ITA had several pre-arranged tastings – some […]

Five Years of Wine Blogger Conference Recaps: #WBC16 Fun Begins Next Week

Wine Blogger Conference Recaps

Five Years of Wine Blogger Conference Recaps: #WBC16 Fun Begins Next Week This the season (and the week of the Wine Bloggers Conference) for wine bloggers to take the easy way out with recap posts.  Color me guilty and enjoy the story behind the stories for each conference.  I always have such an amazing time […]

Spanish Wine Trip: My Time in Bullas – Day Three

On day three, with 5,000+ calories in our system and a workout underneath my ever tightening belt, we packed up on our road trip with our fearless guide, Eduardo Ruiz.  Eduardo is the export manager of MGW Group and drew the short straw of driving us all over the region … or watching us sleep […]

Dallas Wine Chick Celebrates 1,460 Days, 250 Posts and 1,000s of Bottles of Wine

Dallas Wine Chick Celebrates 1,460 Days, 250 Posts and 1,000s of Bottles of Wine It’s hard to believe it has been 1,460 days since Dallas Wine Chick made its debut.  Since then, I’ve met countless wine lovers across the world, tasted thousands of bottles of wine (some good, some bad), attended three Wine Bloggers Conferences […]

Dallas Wine Chick Behaving Badly: How NOT to do Wine Country

Dallas Wine Chick Behaving Badly: How NOT to do Wine Country I’ve been asked by many of my friends and readers about the right way to experience wine country.  I always smirk a little to myself when I’m asked because I was such the poster child of bad behavior the first time I visited with my […]

My Four Year Old Has a Better Palate Than Mine?

The Relaunch of Dallas Wine Chick

    A few days ago, I was going through my usual wine consumption ritual – view the color and clarity, sniff the aroma, swirl the glass, and was getting ready to taste when I suddenly heard, “Mommy, can I have a sip?” I looked down to see the big blue eyes of my four […]