Author: Nancy (CSW)

Hotel Eldorado – Kelowna, British Columbia

Originally built by Countess Bubna Litite of Austria, about 3 miles down the lakeshore from its current location, it was called the Eldorado Arms Inn. Though it began as lodging for local ranch hands, it eventually became an elegant hotel with extensive gardens and was well known for quality dining and lodging. It attracted visitors from all over Europe and North America.

Wine And A Pyramid Too!

We recently visited Summerhill Pyramid Winery as part of a Pre-Conference Excursion to the Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2013 in Penticton, British Columbia. The excursion was planned for us by Tourism Kelowna and included a tour and dinner at the winery.

Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2013 — Pre-Conference Fun

The Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2013 was held in Penticton, British Columbia, June 6 – 8. We arrived a couple of days before the Conference started so we could spend some time in Penticton and participate in one of the Pre-Conference Excursions. We chose the Kelowna Pre-Conference Excursion so we could learn a bit about the wineries along the north part of Okanagan Lake. The Excursion was organized and subsidized by Tourism Kelowna.

South African Wines

Last Thursday night’s tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton featured wines from South Africa. George and Gail, owners of the wine shop, visited South Africa several years ago and shared their experiences and a bit about the history of wine making in the region with us.

Lunch With A Bulgarian

Pete’s sister, Marie, recently invited us to lunch at her home in San Francisco. The occasion was a visit with Pete’s son before his return to Rio de Janeiro. Seth mostly lives in Rio, but had been in San Francisco visiting and working.

Crozes-Hermitage – Affordable Northern Rhone Wines

In a continuing effort to find great-tasting, moderately-priced wine the theme for the Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was Crozes-Hermitage. This AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) is located in the Northern Rhone region of France, adjacent to the very prestigious Hermitage AOC.

Summer Sippers

The theme for Thursday night’s wine tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was “Summer Sippers”. George and Gail put together a group of six wines that meet their definition of Summer Sippers, that is white wines with lots of flavor, good acidity and not much perceivable sugar.

SakéOne – Premium Saké Made in Oregon

Just about one year ago, we tasted a selection of saké made by SakeOne, a premium saké brewer located in Forest Grove, Oregon. We were sent several samples of infused saké which we tasted on their own and used to make cocktails. We wrote about that experience in a prior post.

We recently received four tasting samples from SakéOne and participated in tasting via Twitter. We learned quite a bit about SakéOne and saké.

St. Jorge Winery – Portuguese Varietal Wines in Lodi

St. Jorge Winery – Portuguese Varietal Wines in Lodi. We recently had the most interesting visit to this picturesque Lodi winery. St. Jorge Winery (1) produced its first vintage in 2008. We have tasted St. Jorge wines in the past. Several times someone has brought a bottle to an annual crab feed we attend. We have always liked the wine, usually a Verdelho, and have been curious to try their other wines. We decide to take a trip out to the winery to see what their wines are all about.