What it will cost you to taste wine in the Napa Valley in 2016 This is our third year of calculating the Napa Valley Tasting Room Index. Its purpose is to give travelers a rough estimate of what it costs in fees to taste wine in the Napa Valley. We are using the same tasting rooms that … Read more
These are two words you most likely do not have in your wine vocabulary. So what exactly are Verjus and Kokomo? Verjus is a French term that translates into “green juice.” It is a product of wine grapes that are not fully ripe. The grapes are also not fermented. Verjus is acidic and, therefore, a … Read more
We were invited to a press event at Rombauer Vineyards in St. Helena last week. We had been to the Rombauer tasting room on several occasions, but this event was a special look inside the Rombauer Vineyards cellars with winemaker Richie Allen and KR Rombauer III. Did we ever learn a lot about Rombauer wines! Everyone knows … Read more
Zinfandel lovers – mark your calendars for February 25 to 27 I know that we have many Zinfandel lovers who come to the Wine Country Getaway’s Website to plan a trip to wineries producing wonderful Zinfandel wines. Here’s an easy way to get to a huge number of Zinfandel producers and taste their fantastic Zinfandel … Read more
Tasting rooms in town save driving but you miss the experience
Napa, Yountville, Healdsburg, Sutter Creek, Murphys, you name it, they all have tasting rooms where you can walk outside your hotel or B&B and never get into a car to taste a plethora of wines. The one thing these tasting rooms lack is wine country.
Meeting Jose Antonio “Pepe” Galante – winemaker at Bodega Salentein One of the benefits of wine blogging is an occasional invitation to meet with winery owners and winemakers. This invitation was special. We were invited by Balzac Communications to a dinner with Pepe Galante. Pepe was here in the U.S. on tour to promote Bodega Salentein wines … Read more
Is Wine Tasting in the Napa Valley a Whites only activity? The recent Wine Train debacle where a women’s book club of 10 Black women and one white woman were kicked off the wine train brought something clearly to my attention. We visit many tasting rooms in the Napa Valley and Sonoma, as frequently as … Read more
This is fig season so why not try making a perfect fig pizza in your oven or on the BBQ grill. I got this recipe for fig pizza thanks to Chef Matt Paille, who created this pizza during his stint at the Manzinata Restaurant in Healdsburg. It really is a fabulous and delicious pizza even … Read more
Urban Wine Xperience Pops Corks on Oakland Waterfront on August 1st in Jack London Square Unknown to many a wine lover is the large contingent of Urban wineries in the East Bay cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda and Castro Valley. This is Urban Wine Country. On August 1st, in Jack London Square, wine lovers will have a chance to … Read more
One of our first discoveries in California wines was the Louis M. Martini Winery. My Dad had a customer who was in wine sales and would sell him Louis Martini, Charles Krug, and Wente Bros. wines by the case. This was in the mid 1960’s. Get this: A bottle of Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon was slightly under $2 a … Read more