Napa Valley Cabernet in August. It is the first week in August and vintners are getting excited and anxious about the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest. In the photo above, we see Napa Valley Cabernet in August. You can compare these same Cabernet vines with photos taken in June and July. We arrived in the Napa … Read more
About Viognier in Paso Robles This Viognier vineyard is part of the Pipestone estate located in Paso Robles on the westside of Highway 101. All the vineyards are sustainably and organically farmed at Pipestone. Viognier is a Rhone variety of grape. The soil and growing conditions in this area of Paso Robles are in many … Read more
About SIP Certified wineries “Sustainable in Practice” is the mantra for wineries that have passed a thorough inspection and evaluation of their vineyard and cellaring practices. You can rest assured that SIP Certified wineries have passed a vigorous set of criteria and that they must meet the SIP Certified standard yearly. Visit them and be … Read more
About California Sparkling Wine This month the California sparkling wine houses are harvesting grapes to use in the production of their wines. For their entry level wines, the grape juice used will contain Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for the most part. Mumm Napa, this past week, was the first sparkling wine house to begin harvest. … Read more
About Wine Caves This cave was built long ago at the Stags’ Leap Winery in the Napa Valley. Most likely the cave was built by Chinese laborers and they were paid very little for their hard work. The purpose of the wine cave is to store the wine under ideal aging conditions. The wine juice … Read more
Mumm Napa starts the 2014 harvest in the Napa Valley Just about two weeks ahead of a normal harvest, the 2014 harvest in the Napa Valley began today at the Game Farm Vineyard, just off the Silverado Trail, between Yountville and Oakville. The grape harvesters began working in earnest as daylight emerged over the vines. … Read more
Vineyard Workers in action These vineyard workers are indispensable throughout the growing season. In this photo, these workers are thinning the leaves among the Pinot Noir vines at the Benovia Winery in the Russian River Valley. By all accounts these vineyard workers will soon be harvesting grapes. Before harvest approaches, pruning is required several times, … Read more
About Abacela Winery Abacela winery is one of Oregon’s most famous wineries, even though they don’t make a single Pinot Noir wine. It is also one of Oregon’s most visited wineries for these reasons. Gorgeous tasting room, beautiful hillside vineyards, instructional stations among the vines, peaceful picnic area, sustainable farming, and most importantly delicious wines. … Read more
About Ancient Peaks Tasting Room The Ancient Peaks tasting room is located in the small town of Santa Margarita at the southern end of the Paso Robles AVA. Ancient Peaks is owned by three families and produces some wonderful wines at very reasonable prices. The Ancient Peaks Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc are produced in high … Read more
About Garré Vineyards & Winery At Friday night’s “Taste our Terroir” at Casa Real in Livermore, we were able to taste many of Livermore’s best wines paired with appetizers from local restaurants. The wines we tasted were all delicious and the food excellent. Among the 700 people attending the event, my cousin Mona was pouring … Read more