IN PURSUIT OF BALANCE 2013

Featuring California Chardonnay and California Pinot Noir Los Angeles, CA  February 6, 2013   This is the third year for this event which was conceived by Rajat Parr of Sandhi Wines and Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards. This year the event was held in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Previously, the events were held in […]

MOUNT EDEN VINEYARDS AND DOMAINE EDEN

A recent visit with Jeffrey and Ellie Patterson at Mount Eden Vineyards and Domaine Eden offered the opportunity to taste some 2011 wines out of barrel and also to spend an evening at Manresa in Los Gatos celebrating Ellie’s 60th birthday. (Manresa is a great restaurant under the direction of Chef-Proprietor David Kinch. I took […]

EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BEEN DYING TO KNOW ABOUT NEWLY RELEASED CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAYS!

  Just when I think I have seen it all, up pops another surprise. A good friend just sent me a collection of notes taken from a website frequented by a lot of people posting notes on wines. In this case, it seems to be from what sounds like a bunch of  groupies who love […]

NEW WINES TO CONSIDER AS WE RAPIDLY APPROACH THE END OF THE YEAR

I am always looking for new and different wines. These range from obscure “Under the Radar” wines to the latest Burgundy vintage and other wines tasted from barrel. Around the year end holidays is always a time to relax and enjoy life. That includes time with family and friends and food and wine.  So as […]

A NOTE FROM DARRELL CORTI

Recently, I published an article entitled “A Grand Event: Featuring Old California Wines From Pioneer Producers.” It related to a tasting of old California wines hosted by K&L Wines. Darrell Corti and I were invited guests (Click here to read the article). After the article was published Darrell sent this note. It adds color and […]

MOUNT EDEN VINEYARDS AND DOMAINE EDEN — SOMETHING OLD AND SOMETHING NEW

Mount Eden Vineyards is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was launched in 1972 on the site of the old Martin Ray Estate which was started in 1945. My first visit to Mount Eden was in the early 1970s. The wines from here are some of the best made in California and I have been tasting, drinking, and writing about them for over 40 years.

TRADE TASTING – CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR “IN PURSUIT OF BALANCE”

I recently attended a trade tasting featuring California Pinot Noir. It was held at restaurant RN74 in San Francisco. Rajat Parr, the sommelier, has been a strong proponent of wines with alcohols lower than 15%. Lower alcohol wines are something that has been advocated by many of us for a very long time.

Retrospective Review: Volume I, Number 2 (October-November 1979)

California Chardonnay

After taking California Pinot Noir in our first issue, we turned to California Chardonnay as the focus of our second issue. But, unlike Pinot Noir, Chardonnay was already wildly popular as a generally fruity, oaky, easy-to-drink beverage.