Uncategorized

A Walk in the Vineyards

by

A Walk in the Vineyards On a quiet morning, we walk in the vineyards in St. Helena in the Napa Valley. Listen to the sounds of Fall and view the beauty of the vines at this time of the year.

West Dry Creek Road in November

by
west dry creek road

West Dry Creek Road in November West Dry Creek Road in November is one of the most serene and pleasant roads in wine country. The smell of Fall is in the air around every wonderful twist and turn of this laid-back wine country road. West Dry Creek Road begins at Westside Road just outside of … Read more

Ten years of Pinot Noir glory – Sideways

by
chris burrows sideways

The movie “Sideways,” which I believe to be the best wine movie ever made, is ten years old this October. It is much more about wine, but the effect it had on two wine varieties cannot be denied. It has been ten years of Pinot Noir glory since the movie focused on the greatness of … Read more

Downtown Napa, The Good & The Bad

by

Last week we spent one night in downtown Napa. That is not much time to explore Napa but enough for us to discover some wonderful delights and a few things not so appealing for tourists.

The new Avia Hotel is where we lodged for one night. It is certainly a very beautiful venue but so new that a few kinks need to be ironed out. The price for our room was listed at $900 a night on the door. We received an alert from the Travel Zoo and paid $119 for our room. I can’t imagine anyone paying the full price in this economy.

Read more

Wine Blogging Conference – Napa Valley Missing in Action

by

I’m not sure how the organizers of the Wine Blogging Conference found sponsors or determined what events were to be staged, but clearly Sonoma wineries were at the forefront of this inaugural event. Except for the Culinary Institute of America, which conducted the blind wine tasting event, Napa Valley and its wineries were nowhere to be seen at this conference.

Sonoma wineries went all out for this event. From the opening event, a lunch and tasting of 12 Sonoma wines at Kick Ranch Vineyards, to the final luncheon on Sunday, just about every event featured Sonoma wines. The major sponsors, the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, and Sebastiani Vineyards, provided lunches, dinners, bus transportation, and more wines than we could possibly taste. What a coup for Sonoma wineries.

Read more