About Padron Peppers Padron peppers or Pimientos de Padrón are very much the rage in California wine country. Padron peppers have been one of the staples of the Spanish Tapas scene for many ages. Now Padron Peppers are popping up on many wine country restaurant menus and folks are growing them in their vegetable gardens. … Read more
About Terra Savia and Hopland wineries Do you really want to get away in the Northern California wine country? Discover the boutique Hopland wineries of Mendocino County. Most wine folks know Mendocino wineries because of the Anderson Valley. But to the east of the Anderson Valley and over the coastal mountains is another wine country worth discovering, … Read more
Wine Barrel Rooms – Are they safe? We are waiting to see reports of the full damage that the Napa earthquake has caused. We know that many homes and businesses have been red tagged. Others residents and businesses have much clean up to do. A friend of ours has a house on Milton Road in … Read more
This is a Napa earthquake update for wine country travelers. If you have been watching the news reports on the Napa earthquake, you most likely have seen a shot of this building. It is one of the several brick and masonry buildings that was badly damaged in the Napa earthquake on Sunday. This building houses … Read more
About making sparkling wine This photo shows the residue built up in the capped bottle. This is a waste product of fermentation that occurred in the bottle. Yeast was introduced into the bottle and then the bottle was capped. This creates the bubbles in sparkling wine. The CO is a by-product of fermentation and is … Read more
On Sunday morning at our home on the San Francisco Peninsula, Janelle and I were jolted out of bed. In the middle of an earthquake you wonder if the shaking will intensify or diminish. Thankfully, within seconds the rumbling stopped. It was not nearly as strong as what we felt in the ’89 Loma Prieta quake, … Read more
About winemaker Greg La Follette Greg La Follette, an esteemed winemaker, is most known for his passion for making the finest Pinot Noir in the land. In addition to his own winery and label, Greg is a vastly sought-after consulting winemaker. At the recent Family Winemakers event in San Mateo, I was reminded of how … Read more
About Napa Valley Merlot What a beautiful cluster of Merlot grapes! Before the wine movie “Sideways” (2004) Merlot was extremely popular, especially among women. In the movie, the main character, Miles, slammed Merlot with his now famous line, “I am not drinking any F&#%!@?! Merlot!” Sales of Merlot fell dramatically following the movie. Now, ten … Read more
About Napa Valley Harvest Party 2014 This is the most exciting time of the year in the Napa Valley. It’s the Napa Valley harvest party 2014. For the next several weeks, the “Crush” will take place. Vineyards are everywhere in the Napa Valley, as far and as wide as the eye can see. That is … Read more
About Tablas Creek Tasting Room and Winery Deep into the west side of Paso Robles we find this winery producing exciting Rhone style wines. The trek to the winery from Highway 101 in Paso Robles is through some very pretty backroads and very much worth the effort of getting to the Tablas Creek tasting room … Read more