Wine Pairing

Chateau Montelena Calistoga Zinfandel featured photo

Chateau Montelena Calistoga Zinfandel

If you are a serious wine enthusiast then you recognize the Chateau Montelena name. Chardonnay may be the variety you most closely associate with Chateau Montelena Winery, as the winner in the white wine category of the 1972 Judgement of Paris competition, but the Calistoga winery is up to more than Chardonnay. We recently received a tasting sample of Chateau […]

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Carlania Celler El Petit Carlania Trepat

“Let me know when you are picked up at the airport so I can have dinner ready. I have an interesting dinner and a more interesting wine.” Who doesn’t love receiving a text message like that? Little did I know a glass of Carlania Celler El Petit Carlania Trepat would be waiting for me when I arrived home. A couple […]

Lodi Celebrates Albariño

Lodi Celebrates Albariño

Yes, that’s right, Lodi celebrates more than Zinfandel. Albariño is a rising star in Lodi and over the past couple of years we have tasted quite a few delicious examples from Lodi. We can add the three Lodi Albariños in this post, which we received as tasting samples, to that list. This weekend nine Lodi wineries are hosting a celebration […]

Quintessential Wines featured photo

A Glass of Wine for Every Palate

We don’t all like the same kind of wine, and that’s okay, in fact it’s one of the things I enjoy most about wine. Gathering friends together over a meal and a collection of wines is always an interesting experience. I look forward to the opinions of others and how they compare to my own impressions. This collection wine, which […]

Locations Wines featured photo

Looking for a New Locations Wine?

This cellar note includes four of winemaker Dave Phinney’s Locations wines. We begin in New Zealand then stop off in Europe, to visit France and Spain, before reaching our final destination of Washington State. No passport required. We received all four wines as tasting samples. The first thing you probably notice about the Locations wines are the distinctive black and […]

Gonzales Byass wines featured photo

Food-Friendly Wine from Gonzáles Byass

Today’s Cellar Note takes us on a tasting tour of four Spanish wine regions: Rías Baixas, Rueda, Rioja and Jerez. All four wines are imported by Gonzáles Byass USA and all are priced under $20 per bottle. We received all four wines as tasting samples. After five generations in the wine business, Gonzáles Byass remains family-owned. What began in 1835 […]

Brkic Greda Zilavka featured photo

Brkić Greda Žilavka

There is something to be said for the comfort of familiarity. On the other hand, the exhilaration of new discoveries should not be underestimated. We recently discovered this for ourselves when we enjoyed a bottle of Brkić Greda Žilavka, both a new wine region and grape variety for us, with a delicious mushroom pasta dish that was also new to […]

Alentejo wines featured photo

A Taste of Portugal’s Alentejo Wine Region

Are you a curious wine drinker? Do you have a keen eye for new wine regions, grape varieties or styles of wine? Then, if you haven’t already become acquainted, allow us to introduce you to the Portuguese wine region of Alentejo. This taste of five wines from Alentejo, which we received as tasting samples, includes one white and four red […]

Garofoli Verdicchio

Garofoli Verdicchio Times Two

Today’s Cellar Note takes us to the Marche region of Italy and provides a taste of Verdicchio, a grape variety closely associated with the region, which lies along the Adriatic Sea. We received both wines as tasting samples. 2017 Garofoli Macrina Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore, Marche — pale straw in the glass with generous aromas of oat […]

Hess Select featured photo

Summertime Sippers from Hess Select

As I sit writing this Cellar Note today’s temperature is expected to break the triple-digit mark. Strategies to keep cool will be needed. Umbrellas will be up on the patio and the misters turned on. Something cool in the glass will be required. We recently received three wines as tasting samples that will do nicely. These wines will keep you […]