CAST Wines: A Unique Blend of Community and Innovation

    Over the last 14 years, I’ve had the opportunity to tell the story of innovation within the wine industry, gaining insights into various approaches to winery beginnings. While family-owned wineries and those acquired by larger corporations or wealthy individuals are common paths, some wineries take the road less traveled. CAST Winery stands out […]

Contra Costa: Putting Sense Before Dollars

Contra Costa: Putting Sense Before Dollars

        Looking from San Francisco “across coast” into Contra Costa County is a lesson in history. It’s what happens when hundred-year-old vineyards of plantings of Zinfandel, Mourvedre and Carignane collide with urban development that refuses to be stopped. When the average price of land today (according to Land Watch, is $2 million […]

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 […]

Zinfandel Wines to Match Summer BBQ

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 […]

Grilling, BBQ and Zins: Synonymous with Summer

Grilling BBQ and Zins

Grilling BBQ and Zins   Grilling, BBQ and Zins are synonymous with Summer and what better time to break break out the grill, pair some wine and have a great meal.  We did just that a few weeks ago when I had the chance to try four great Zinfandels from grapes cultivated in classic vineyards […]

From Prohibition to Pandemic: The Mondavi Family’s History of Reinvention

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 […]

National Zinfandel Day: A Celebration of A Historic Grape

    This Wednesday is National Zinfandel Day.  It is a day that is decreed by ZAP – the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, a non-profit organization – as an opportunity to celebrate this often maligned grape.  I am not usually a let’s celebrate a grape day kind of person, but there was a Twitter tasting […]

Sixmilebridge Vineyard: The Second Chapter of Jim Moroney

Sixmilebridge vineyard

Sixmilebridge Vineyard: The Second Chapter of Jim Moroney   Jim Moroney, Proprietor Sixmilebridge Vineyard For forty years, Jim Moroney was a champion of free press and led Dallas’ only daily paper through a digital transformation. But as he told me, “When you work for a public company like A.H. Belo Corporation, you have a shelf […]

A Month to Celebrate Merlot and a Closer Look at Ravenswood Single Vineyard Designate Wines

Did you know that October is Merlot Month?  And this is a grape worth celebrating! For the last five years, hundreds of Merlot producers have been mounting a movement to celebrate Merlot, designating October as International Merlot Month.  More than 100 Merlot producers, wine merchants, restaurants and consumers will taste and toast online (using #MerlotMe), at […]

Lodi: The Region, The Wines, The Winemakers, The Diversity

Lodi

Photo Credit: Goff Photography The Summer of 2016 was when I first encountered the region of Lodi.  I knew the region was known for its Old Vine Zinfandels, but I did not know how deeply involved I was going to get in this historic region and the indelible impact it would have on my experience […]

A National Day of Celebrating Zinfandel and Lodi

Celebrating Zinfandel and Lodi

A National Day of Celebrating Zinfandel and Lodi Today it seems every wine has its day and November 15 was the day designated to celebrate Zinfandel.  Bloggers gathered across the country for a virtual tasting of Zinfindels from Lodi, California’s self-proclaimed Zinfandel Capital of the World.  Lodi is California’s largest grower of premium Zinfandel and […]