Wine Education Archives - Wine Country Getaways

The Ultimate Guide to Sweet Red Wines: Varieties, Pairings, and Buying Tips

by Julien Raby

Let’s dive straight into the world of sweet red wines. This guide will break down the factors that define a wine’s sweetness, highlight the nuances of vineyards and production, and trace the historical allure of these wines. Learn why and how these particular reds have consistently won over wine aficionados Definition of Sweet Red Wine … Read more

Recipes from Wine County – Sonoma

by Joe Becerra

Last time we highlighted recipes and wine pairings from the Napa Valley. Now it’s time for recipes from Napa Valley’s neighbor, the great Sonoma Wine Country. The wine towns of Healdsburg and Sonoma are culinary centers, and their respect is worldwide. Sonoma is a big County with wineries in many different wine appellations. From the … Read more

Wine and Food pairing at St. Francis Winery

by Joe Becerra

St. Francis Winery & Vineyards in the Sonoma Valley

In the Sonoma Valley, Great Wine and Food at St. Francis The trendy thing in tasting rooms these days is a wine and food pairing. We decided to try out the wine and food pairing at St. Francis Winery in the Sonoma Valley. St. Francis Winery and Vineyards is at the northern end of the … Read more

Ramblings – Comparing Argentine & Chilean Wines to Napa Wines

by Joe Becerra

We are back from our three-week jaunt in Argentina and Chile. We visited several wineries and had plenty of wine to drink with both our lunch and dinner meals. When we met and chatted with Americans in Argentina and Chile, we were invariably asked the question, “How do Argentine (or Chilean) wines compare with those of the Napa Valley?” Our answer would come without hesitation: “The premium wines of Argentina and Chile are as good as any wines we’ve tasted from the Napa Valley.” These are quality wines with great structure and flavors and what we are talking about is the shear enjoyment of a wine. When you taste a well-made Argentine or Chilean wine you can appreciate it just as much as a good Napa Valley wine. But one thing for sure, as I have pointed out previously, the big advantage for Argentine and Chilean wines is the price. A very good Malbec from Argentina or Carmenere from Chile is in the $10 to $20 range.

Harvest is Here!

by Joe Becerra

Well, not in Napa Valley but in Argentina and in other parts of the southern hemisphere. We are in the Mendoza wine country of Argentina where the harvest has been taking place since the beginning of February and will continue through April. We were fortunate to see harvesters working the vineyards at two wineries we visited, and we also had a very nice chat with a small vineyard owner who explained in detail the way harvest works in Argentina.

The crew consists of workers from the northern part of Argentina who spend the entire agricultural season traveling from crop to crop. For the wine industry, crews can be hired from an agency or as individuals. When a winery uses an agency, they pay the agency a fee and pay each worker by the amount he or she picks. Smaller wineries may have their own crew that they hire individually. These workers are also paid by each bin they fill. There are no unions, so all the workers can do is walk off a job to try and negotiate a better rate with the winery.

Napa Valley Mustard Festival The Main Attraction is Free and Spectacular

by Joe Becerra

The 16th annual Mustard Festival began in earnest on January 31 and will run through March 28th with various events. The idea behind the Mustard Festival is to promote tourism in the Napa Valley during the “quiet” time of the year. The weather is always iffy and the vines are all dormant, so tourists tend to stay away during these winter months. In April bud break occurs and spring flowers awake, and once again all is right in the world of the Napa Valley.

Napa Unsettling Problems

by Joe Becerra

With redevelopment projects along the Napa River and the buzz created by the Oxbow Market, you would think that all is joy among Napa businesses, restaurants, and lodging establishments. Not so. The last few weeks have not brought good news to the city of Napa.

One of Copia's exhibits,
interesting or humdrum?

Copia continues to have its share of financial problems. Copia recently announced layoffs and surprisingly their winter hours leave Copia open only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Copia store and Julie’s Kitchen restaurant remain open on a daily basis. We stated in a blog post a year ago that on our last visit to Copia we felt that the exhibits were sparse and not very compelling. The most interesting area to us was the vegetable garden and now we hear that the garden plot might be up for sale to shore up Copia’s financing. You would think that with the addition of the Oxbow Market next door, Copia would see an increase in visitors. Apparently, that has not happened.

Napa Valley’s New Competition from Crushpad Vintners in Foster City

by Joe Becerra

Could two small Vintners from Foster City and others like them be a possible challenge and take a piece of the pie from the Napa Valley wine market? Probably not, but with over 100 Crushpad clients making and selling as much 1000 cases of wine, something has to give.

We met the owners of Jazz Cellars at the Family Winemakers event in San Francisco. We tasted their wines and thought they were very well made. We wanted to find out more so last week we sat down with the two aspiring winery owners of Jazz Cellars of Foster City.

Inglenook and Charbono Revisited

by Joe Becerra

We recently celebrated the 40th wedding anniversary of friends with a dinner party. One of the guests, a wine collector, brought a 40-year-old bottle of Inglenook Charbono to celebrate the affair.

The bottle of 1968 Inglenook Charbono was decanted and allowed to sit one hour. After tasting the Charbono, we agreed that the wine was still fruity but maybe a little flat but that was okay because it was the thought that counted. What a great way to toast our friends with a wine from this famous Napa Valley winery made the same year as our friends were married. The bottle of wine also stimulated much conversation about the great days of Inglenook and the Charbono wine varietal.

A Look at the “Paris Block” Chardonnay

by Joe Becerra

A few blog posts ago, we mentioned that nearly all the grapes that produced the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, the wine that won the “Judgment of Paris,” came from Sonoma County and not the Napa Valley. We found all this out at the Family Winemaker Event from Katie Bacigalupi. Her grandfather, Charles Bacigalupi, sold a portion of those grapes to Chateau Montelena. Those grapes are still there on the Bacigalupi Vineyards in the Russian River Valley. So when Katie offered to show us the vineyard, we took her up on the invitation.