Reviews

Reviews of wine related trips and accessories.

Chalk Hill Estate Sauvignon Blanc featured photo

Chalk Hill Sauvignon Blanc Paired with Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

There’s nothing quite as satisfying and warming as homemade soup. If the recipe is easy, so much the better. Pair that soup with a delicious white wine and your meal is complete. We recently proved that point after receiving a bottle of Chalk Hill Estate Sauvignon Blanc from the winery as a tasting sample along with a butternut squash harvested […]

Firing Blancs – A Felix Hart Adventure

Firing Blancs, the third book in the Felix Hart wine buyer series, is just as funny as the first two. It documents Felix’s further adventures as the wine buyer for a large English supermarket chain. The author Peter Stafford-Bow has a great sense of humor and an entertaining writing style. This is a fun book to sit and read in […]

Odfjell featured photo

Odfjell: Organic (and Biodynamic) Wines from Chile

Today’s tasting takes us on a virtual trip to Chile for a sip of three wines made using grapes that are farmed organically and biodynamically. The winery’s story includes a Norwegian ship owner, Norwegian Fjord horses and very old Carignan. Sounds interesting, no? We received these wines as tasting samples. Dan Odfjell (odd-fee-yell) made his fortune in the shipping business. […]

"Wine For Dummies", 7th edition by Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan

Wine For Dummies: A Book Review

Wine for Dummies is in its 7th edition. Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan co-wrote the first edition back in 1995 and they have recently completed extensive updates to the 7th edition. We recently received this newest edition of Wine For Dummies for review consideration. This is the first edition of Wine For Dummies I have read. Both Ed McCarthy and […]

Harney Lane wines featured photo

Harney Lane Wine for the Holidays and Everyday

I’m willing to bet that you closely associate Zinfandel with the Lodi wine region. Many wine drinkers do. But, you might not associate Chardonnay with Lodi. We’ve only tasted a few Lodi Chardonnays, but recently we had the opportunity to taste the new release Chardonnay from Harney Lane Winery & Vineyards along with their Old Vine Zinfandel sourced from the […]

J Mc Clelland and 50 Harvests featured photo

J. McClelland & 50 Harvests: A Taste of Napa from Scotto Cellars

J. McClelland and 50 Harvests wines are the top tier of wines crafted by Scotto Cellars. Both are sourced from Napa Valley vineyards and made at the Scotto’s Napa Valley winery, Steel Canyon Cellars. Winemakers Mark Smith, Mitch Cosentino and Paul Scotto collaborate on these wines, which we received as tasting samples. The J. McClelland brand pays tribute to John […]

Fall Grilling featured photo

It’s Fall and We’re Still Grilling

Grilling in the fall takes on a very different feel than in summer, even in California. Gone are long, leisurely and warm evenings. This time of year sunset comes quickly and a sweater may be required when tending the grill. And a head lamp. No matter, we still occasionally pull out the grill and when we do we need wine […]

Failla Hudson Vineyard Syrah and Lamb Tagine featured photo

Failla Hudson Vineyard Syrah & Moroccan Lamb Tagine #WinePW

The theme for our November Wine Pairing Weekend (#WinePW) event remembers the devastating wildfires that have struck many wine regions around the world recently. The topic for this month’s wine and food pairings comes from Gwendolyn Alley who blogs at Wine Predator. The title of her invitation post: Together We Rise: Wines from Fire Struck Regions in CA, Chile, Spain, […]