Connection Through Community
Connection is the word I would use to describe my most recent trip to wine country. It was a connection to a community I love and have missed. A connection to the wineries that I have covered from afar for almost two years. And, perhaps even a reconnection back to […]
Rediscover Merlot: The Turning Point
For more than 200 years, Merlot has been a foundational grape in the wine world – from Bordeaux to California – used to make some of the finest wines. The Merlot grape, which translates to blackbird in French, became the most planted grape in Bordeaux and known for its soft, elegant […]
My Personal Equity Report Card
It’s been around a year since I posted what I am calling “my accountability challenge” to feature more black and women winemakers on my blog. So much has happened since then. Key changes have occurred in our behavior (good and bad), how we engage socially and how technology has become key […]
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. […]
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. […]
Ushering out the Decade with Stellar Holiday Samples
It’s crazy that 2019 has passed in a flash and a new year/decade has begun. Why not usher in a new decade with a round-up article of a few favorite samples over the holidays? Due to the weather, there is always a rush of samples shipped when the weather breaks in Texas, so it’s […]
From A Career in Design to Kelly Fleming Wines: One Woman’s Road to Happiness
Kelly Fleming, Kelly Fleming Wines Kelly Fleming, owner of Kelly Fleming Wines, original plan in Napa was just to build a getaway home with her former husband and plant some vines. Life has a way of changing plans. “My original plan was to just live there – not to be a farmer,” she said. They […]
Shattering the Stereotypes of Napa: What I Learned at the Wine Writers’ Educational Tours Conference
Shattering the Stereotypes of Napa: What I Learned at the Wine Writers’ Educational Tours Conference Years ago, I had a very wise boss who prepared me for my first business trip to an exotic country by telling me some of his key learnings. “You need to prepare your mind. The expectations that you have will […]
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 […]
An Afternoon with DLynn Proctor and Duane Hoff from Fantesca Winery
When DLynn Proctor issues an invitation to come and join him for some great wines, one immediately RSVPs, no questions asked. That’s how I found myself at the friends and family opening for 60 Vines last month. When I was seated next to Duane Hoff, the Proprietor of Fantesca Estate and Winery, I knew I was […]
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 […]
A Conversation with Remi Cohen About the History of Cliff Lede While Matching Cabernet with East Coast Oysters
A Conversation with Remi Cohen About the History of Cliff Lede While Matching Cabernet with East Coast Oysters Remi and Me Remi Cohen, the general manager of Cliff Lede, and I didn’t start our lunch with the intention of pairing delicate oysters at Montlake Cut with a rich Stags Leap Cabernet, but we found ourselves […]
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 […]