Picking out the perfect wine for your Thanksgiving meal doesn’t have to be difficult. Given the variety of foods and flavors served at a typical Thanksgiving feast – dark meat, white meat, tart cranberries, sweet yams – you’re better off presenting your guests with a range of options suited both to different foods and different…
Harvest time in Napa Valley is a whirlwind of hard work that sweeps up almost every one in a veritable crush of activity. Somewhere in that great grape maelstrom, a sense of shared commitment and celebration is forged. Slowly, traditions form around the tempo of the harvest. Blessed Blessing the Grapes: one of the oldest…
See Part 1 here! Napa Valley may be a giant in the world of wine, but its actual wine production is relatively small. The floor of Napa Valley is only 30 miles long and 5 miles across with 46,000 acres under cultivation all over Napa. To put that in context, the wine growing region of…
A near-perfect climate combined with proximity to bustling San Francisco have made Napa Valley the premier wine region in the New World. Beginnings: Pioneers Grape production in Napa Valley began in the nineteenth century with George C. Yount. Yount’s vineyard grew to encompass land that included what is now Rutherford, Oakville, and Yountville, now considered…
Wine rating systems can be a touchy subject. Some people swear by them and some swear at them. We might not all agree on whether using a 100-point rating system like Robert Parker’s is the best way to know what wine you should buy. When a 100-point wine does come along, however, we can all…
Temperatures are skyrocketing and the only solution is to roll up your sleeves, get out a big old ice bucket and fill it with some summer stunners to help ward off the heat: From the new California School of wine makers, Arnot Roberts focuses on pure and lighter styles of winemaking in California and provides…
2004 KISTLER CHARDONNAY HYDE, CARNEROS $98/bottle 94-96 points, Robert Parker Always a show-stopper in terms of aromatics, the flowery 2004 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard offers hints of smoky hazelnuts, honeysuckle, orange blossoms, buttered apples, and white currants. With exuberant fruit, full body, terrific definition and precision, it should provide plenty of pleasure over the next 6-8…
The 1990s were a simpler time, filled with pagers, dial-up modems, and Urkel on every TV screen. While you might not miss everything about the 90s, you can be sure that we still have the best thing the decade ever produced. Check out our selection of hella cool wine from the 90s here!
2015 KISTLER LAGUNA RIDGE PINOT NOIR $299.98/bottle 94-97 points, Antonio Galloni The 2015 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard exudes depth, power and concentration. Extroverted and ample, the 2015 boasts magnificent richness from start to finish. Inky blue and purplish fruit, lavender, violets and licorice are fused together in the glass. A final taste reveals a creamy,…
Thanksgiving dinner is the most celebrated meal of the year. That also means it can be the most stressful, too. While we can’t cook your turkey, we can pick your wine. It’s simple, pick Pinot. Why is Pinot Noir the best wine for for your Thanksgiving meal? It has moderate alcohol, low tannin, and medium-to-light body. These qualities make Pinot…
