Articles by
John Tilson
TOAD HOLLOW VINEYARDS
Toad Hollow Vineyards makes consistently fine food friendly and value priced wines sourced from Northern California vineyards (to read an article on other wines released earlier this year click here). Their mission statement is to produce quality wines that are delicious, interesting and accessible. They also say they are an amusing and friendly bunch and […]
Click here to read entire article »CHANIN WINE COMPANY
It was in 2011 when I first visited Gavin Chanin who had just launched his own winery after an apprenticeship at Au Bon Climat and Qupé with Jim Clendenen and Bob Lindquist (to read that article click here). Gavin could not have had better mentors. I have known Jim since before he launched Au Bon […]
Click here to read entire article »2018 ROSÉS – PART 3
The 2018 Rosés keep rolling in and it is clear that carefully selected there are many stunning wines. I have written 2 earlier articles on 2018 rosés and I would urge you to read them for more suggestions and background (to read my first 2018 rosé article click here and to read part 2 […]
Click here to read entire article »BONNY DOON VINEYARD LAUNCHES A NEW LE CIGARE VOLANT & LE CIGARE BLANC
THE WINES ARE STUNNING & REPRESENT SOARING VALUE! Randall Grahm is the Bonny Doon Vineyard founder and winemaker. My long time good friend, wine buddy and Underground Associate Editor, Ed Lazarus, introduced me to Randall in the 1970s. Randall was searching for property to plant Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains and we went […]
Click here to read entire article »2018 ROSÉ – Part 2
Earlier this year I wrote about the high expectations I had for the 2018 Rosé vintage based on tasting only a few wines (to read that article click here). And, now a few months later I have tasted nearly 100 2018 Rosés and I can say that without question there are many great […]
Click here to read entire article »GREAT WINE WITH GREAT FOOD TO CELEBRATE A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY AT CANYON VILLA
The Event & The Venue I was born in 1944 and this last March 27 was my 75th birthday. I had always planned to have one of my birthday wines on this milestone birthday. My wife Laurie and I invited a few friends and chose The Canyon Villa for the event. The […]
Click here to read entire article »RIDGE VINEYARDS – SPRING 2019 RELEASES
The Ridge Vineyards Spring 2019 releases are out. They feature 4 red wines and 1 white wine. And, true to form, they are all delicious wines with the typical Ridge character, balance, and appeal (to read a recent Ridge Vineyards article with notes on some of the wines released last year as well as […]
Click here to read entire article »TABLAS CREEK VINEYARD – SPRING 2019 RELEASES
The Tablas Creek Vineyard spring 2019 releases are here and, as usual, they are not to be missed. This year there are six wines including two delicious white wines, two beautiful rosés, and two lovely red wines. These are wines not to miss. They represent the perfect trifecta! My notes on these six wines […]
Click here to read entire article »SURPRISE WINNING WINE IN THE INTERNATIONAL WINE TASTING COMPETITION OF THE CENTURY
In recent years wine tasting competitions have proliferated across the world like wild flowers after a March rain. I just received word of a massive tasting of several thousand wines from all over the world that was held on March 27 in Abuja, Nigeria. It seems that in this relatively new planned city wine […]
Click here to read entire article »2018 ROSES – IT’S TIME & IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE IN FOR A REAL TREAT!
Yes it appears to have happened very quickly, but the 2018 roses are beginning to arrive. This perception of an early arrival maybe even more so this year given the cold weather we are having across the country. That includes here in Santa Barbara where we are in one of the wettest and coldest […]
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