Tasting Notes

Tasting notes for individual wines.

UPSHOT wines featured photo

UPSHOT Wines: Unique Blends From Rodney Strong Vineyards

Rodney Strong Vineyards is well known in Sonoma County and is a name recognized by many wine enthusiasts. The Russian River Valley winery has grown and matured along with the Sonoma County wine scene. The portfolio of wines made by Rodney Strong Vineyards now includes UPSHOT wines, which includes a white blend and a red blend. We received both wines […]

Alentejo red wines photo

Portugal’s Alentejo Wine Region Is Home to Delicious Red Blends

The Alentejo wine region is known for its delicious, fruit-forward red blends. White wines are made here as well, in smaller quantities, and rosés are made in even smaller amounts. We’ve had the opportunity to taste Alentejo wines several times and every time we have been impressed by the quality and price of Alentejo wines. They’re delicious, food friendly and […]

Diora Rosé featured photo

Welcome Rosé Season With Diora La Belle Fête Rosé

If national sales figures for rosé wines are and indication, I’m not the only one looking forward to rosé season. The beautiful color of rosé in the glass makes me think of warmer weather and always makes me feel hopeful. We have a few favorite rosés but we are always open to tasting new ones as well. This rosé and […]

Benziger and Imagery wines featured photo photo

Tasting Wine With The Women Who Made Them

Lisa Amaroli is director of winemaking at Benziger Family Winery and Jamie Benziger is head winemaker at Imagery Estate Winery. Neither woman set out with the singular focus of becoming a winemaker, but both found their way to winemaking through hard work and a passion for their craft. I had the opportunity to meet both women during a recent virtual […]

Ravines Wine Cellars featured photo

Ravines Wine Cellars: Wines From New York’s Finger Lakes AVA

Today we are tasting three wines from New York’s Finger Lakes wine region. This cool-climate region is known for its dry Riesling, but there is considerable diversity beyond Riesling. Expect bright fruit flavors, brilliant acidity and modest alcohol levels in Finger Lakes wines. We received three wines as tasting samples from Ravines Wine Cellars that offer a delicious introduction to […]

2020 Beaujolais Nouveau featured photo

Beaujolais Nouveau is Perfect for Springtime Sipping

Every February we get a few days of bright, sunny weather with temperatures approaching the 70s. We take advantage of the break from chilly weather by heading outside to finding a sunny spot in the backyard to enjoy the faux spring. We know it won’t last long and soon we will be back to chilly, rainy weather, but this little […]

Oregon wines re-bottled by Master The World photo

An Exploration of Oregon Wine Beyond Pinot Noir

When I think of Oregon wine my mind automatically goes to Pinot Noir and the Willamette Valley. Without a doubt Pinot Noir is Oregon’s signature variety and the Willamette Valley its best-known wine region, but as I learned during a recent online seminar sponsored by the Oregon Wine Board, Pinot Noir just scratches the surface of an evolving wine scene […]

Vilarnau Cava featured photo

Toast Your Valentine With A Glass of Vilarnau Cava

Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion (well, OK, excuse) to indulge in a glass of sparkling wine. There are many kinds of sparkling wines made around the world made in a variety of ways from many different grape varieties. Cava is Spain’s contribution to the world of sparkling wine and is made with particular grape varieties using the traditional method. […]

7 Deadly Wines and Ghirardelli Chocolates featured photo

7 Deadly Wines and Ghirardelli Chocolate for Valentine’s Day

Fully realizing wine and chocolate pairing is not to everyone’s taste, we’re sharing a wine and chocolate pairing for Valentine’s Day because we also recognize many will think the pairing is a grand idea. We recently received three wines from 7 Deadly Wines and three chocolate bars made by Ghirardelli Chocolate Company as tasting samples, so we are proceeding with […]