Stories

Jordan Celebrates 50 Years of Winemaking photo

Jordan Vineyard & Winery Celebrates 50 Years of Winemaking

If you are familiar with the wines made by Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg, California then you need no excuse to enjoy their wines. You already know Jordan’s focus is on two wines: Russian River Chardonnay and Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. You know Jordan doesn’t follow trends; their focus has always been on elegance and balance.  In case you […]

Please Meet Pull The Cork

I still remember the first time Nancy brought Pull The Cork to my attention on Instagram. She came across one of their posts and did a double-take on the name. She didn’t recognize the post as one of ours then looked closely at the name . . . Pull The Cork not Pull That Cork. Since that time, we’ve had […]

Champagne: one bottle, two gifts

An artistically wrapped present can be two gifts in one. The first gift is a visual one, the beauty of the wrapping and the enjoyment of opening it; the second, of course – the contents of the package. This is how I think of a bottle of Champagne.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Cape Town, South Africa — A Natural Beauty

Cape Town, South Africa is stunningly beautiful. It sits perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in the southern portion of South Africa. Cape Town is located at the northern end of a peninsula which terminates at Cape Point. Sweeping beaches stretch along the Atlantic and are interrupted by a rocky shoreline. The ocean is blue-green and wild along the Atlantic.

Victoria Falls Panorama

Victoria Falls: The Smoke That Thunders

Mosi-oa-Tunya is the traditional name for Victoria Falls, which straddles the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. It translates to “the smoke that thunders.” The tremendous volume of water plummeting over the falls produces not only a loud roar (the thunder) but a large cloud of spray which from a distance looks like billowing smoke.

Wild dogs in Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park, Botswana: A Bit Dusty But Beautiful in the Dry Season

Chobe National Park is enormous, about 11,000 sq kilometers in area. It, along with the Chobe Forest Reserve occupy the northeastern corner of Botswana. We explored but a tiny portion of the National Park, mostly along the banks of the Chobe River between Ngoma and Serondela, but also traveled through areas of the park distant from the river. The scenery was beautiful and the animal sightings plentiful.

Mokelumne Glen Vineyards — Meet the Winemakers

Mokelumne Glen Vineyards in Lodi is home to over 40 German and Austrian grape varieties. Even though commercial wine production ceased at MGV in 2009, wine is continuing to be produced by a group of winemakers on both a commercial and home winemaking level. They are an interesting and diverse group, drawn to this unique collection of grape varieties in the most unexpected location.

Casey Flat Ranch — A Hidden Gem in the Capay Valley AVA

To say Casey Flat Ranch is remote is an understatement. The 6000 acre ranch is located in the Vaca Mountains northeast of Lake Berryessa and the Napa Valley. This remote area of Yolo county has a wine producing history dating back to the 1860s, but the Capay Valley AVA was only recently declared in 2002.