All other wine tastings we go to.
A recent Thursday night wine tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton highlighted wines from southern Oregon, specifically from the Applegate Valley AVA. Area wineries produce mostly a modest volume from a large range of wine varieties. Interesting wines.
Over the next several weeks we will have several posts profiling the wineries we are visiting here in Southern Arizona. However, I just wanted to post a little update until we can get those written. The last two days we spent in Willcox which appears to have some of the best vineyards in the state. There are several wineries in […]
Introduction to our series on Southern Arizona Wineries.
This is the second seminar we attended as part of the San Francisco Weekend Celebration of American Rhone Wines, which was sponsored by The Rhone Rangers. This seminar was intended to showcase Mourvèdre. Seven winemakers presented and talked about their wines. The seminar was moderated by Jon Bonné, Wine Editor, San Francisco Chronicle.
Our wine education continued recently at the San Francisco Weekend Celebration of American Rhone Wines. This two-day event was sponsored by The Rhone Rangers (1), “a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of Rhone varietal wines produced in the United States”.
Howell Mountain American Viticultural Area (AVA), located within the Napa AVA, was the first sub-appellation to be designated in 1983. Howell Mountain is located on the northeast side of Napa Valley. The AVA ranges from 1400 to 2200 feet, putting it above the fog line.
We are planning a trip to Africa in July 2014. We will be visiting Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We will fly into Johannesburg then travel on to Chobe National Park via Victoria Falls. From Chobe we visit the Okavango Delta, then fly on to Kafue National Park in Zambia. Next, we fly to Zimbabwe and visit Hwange National Park before returning to Victoria Falls and then Johannesburg. Whew! This part of the trip is planned for us. We need only show up with our very minimal luggage.
A couple of weeks ago Nancy and I went up Highway 4 to Bear Valley, Ca. to do some cross country skiing. We go several times each year and usually go straight up and back. This time, though, our trip took a twisted turn.
Recently we received some sample wines to try from Trione Winery in Geyserville California. We had not heard of Trione before and were intrigued by their story. For more than thirty years they have been providing grapes for some of the top wineries in the area such as Duckhorn, Kendall-Jackson and Sonoma-Cutrer among others. They farm almost 700 acres in the Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley and the Sonoma Coast. Only since 2005 have they decided to make their own wines, they opened their tasting room in 2008, and so far they have garnered several awards with subsequent vintages.
On a recent weekday I spent a day wine tasting in Napa Valley with a group of friends. The weather was warm for December, in the mid 60s, and mostly overcast. The drive from Stockton to Napa takes us through the San Francisco Bay Delta.
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.