Gwinllan Estate Vineyard and Winery

We learn from Gordon Pack that he once tried to make wine is his native England. No matter how hard he tried, he was not successful. Eventually he and his wife Chris found their way to California and began a search for the ideal wine making area.

Ups and Downs in Amador Wine Country

We recently spent a couple of days in the Amador wine country. We make this trip once a year, so we have a very good perspective of this lovely wine country area. This wine region is in a transitional period. There are many older wineries that are small, with simple yet inviting tasting rooms. Within … Read more

The new and improved Hanford House Inn

The colors on the walls are gorgeous and each room blends gracefully into the other. Our second floor room was simply furnished and very comfortable and inviting. Breakfast was outstanding. Not being an Eggs Benedict fan, I was totally surprised with the mellowness of the Meyer Lemon sauce. Delicious.

Paradise Ridge Winery Revisited

Paradise Ridge Winery It is always fun to visit Paradise Ridge, a winery off the beaten path in Sonoma County. We purchased another Travelzoo deal, this one for the Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa. Just a couple of miles away from the Inn is the Paradise Ridge Winery. This is one of the few wineries … Read more

A Visit to Rodney Strong Vineyards

In a completely different section of the winery, the other 20% of the wines are produced. These are single-vineyard or specially-selected grapes for the upper tier wines. These wines are aged in French oak barrels for two years.

Rene Barbier: the Robert Mondavi of the Priorat

In a beautiful setting, with the village of Gratallops as the backdrop, Rene Barbier explains that we are looking at a Garnacha vineyard like no other in the Priorat.

Kosher Wines – Celler de Capcanes

What is unique about this winery is that they produce 3 Kosher wines: Peraj Ha’abib, Flor del Flor de Primavera and Peraj petita. Even though Kosher wines account for only 2% of Capcanes’ production, these wines are highly sought after.

Bodegas Mas Alta

When we arrived for our visit at Bodegas Mas Alta, the winery was a filled with activity. The winery was experiencing the “crush” at full throttle. Grapes were being brought into the winery, sorted, and delivered to the fermenting tanks.

Chateau Villerambert-Julien

Just outside of the town Caune-Minervois, where we are staying in the South of France, is one of the best known and most famous wineries in the Minervois wine region of the Languedoc. It is Chateau Villerambert-Julien and indeed it is one of the most spectacular wineries we have visited on our current wine country … Read more

Languedoc Wine Region

We have moved from the Rhone Valley to the Languedoc wine region of France. We have rented a home in the small village of Caunes-Minervois. The house is directly around the corner from the historic Abbey of Caunes that was founded in 780 AD. Each morning we awake to the pleasant sound of the Abbey … Read more