Tasting Notes Archives

Bechthold Vineyard: Ancient Vine Cinsault in Lodi

September 30, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) 6 comments

The Bechthold Vineyard is 25 acres of Cinsault planted on the west side of Lodi — in the Mokelumne River sub-appellation of the Lodi AVA. This own-rooted vineyard was planted in 1886 by Joseph Spenker. Fortunately the soil on the west side of Lodi is particularly sandy (sandy loam to be exact), and too well drained to allow phylloxera a toehold. That good fortune, along with the family’s desire to preserve this part of their farming history has allowed this gem of a vineyard to remain productive at 128 years of age.

Rinascimento Wine Company: Building Relationships, Selling Italian Wine

September 25, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) 2 comments

We spent Tuesday evenings during September learning about Rinascimento Wine Company and its founder Justin Gallen with Protocol Wine Studio and their Twitter-based wine education program #WineStudio. Justin has combined his love of wine and Italian literature into an Italian wine import and distribution business in California. He is busy building relationships with producers and clients alike. He’s a big fan of Italian wines and provided us with four very good reasons we should be too.

Bushman Rock Estate — Why Yes, I Will Have Some Zimbabwean Wine With My Botswana Safari

August 25, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) 3 comments

Travel is great fun and so is wine. Combining the two can be twice the fun. As we planned our trip to Africa, we knew we would be tasting many wines from South Africa. In fact we extended our stay to do just that. But, we also wanted to try and find wine from at least one of the other countries we would be visiting. We succeeded in tasting four interesting wines from Bushman Rock Estate in Zimbabwe while we were in Botswana. What a great wine adventure!

Domaine de Bila-Haut: Roussillon Wines from Michel Chapoutier

August 5, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) 3 comments

Maison M. Chapoutier is a family-owned winery (and négotiant business) located in Tain-l’Hermitage in the northern Rhone. The family’s winemaking history dates back to 1808 and is closely linked with Hermitage. Though the family’s winemaking roots are in the northern Rhone, current winemaking interests also include vineyards in Alsace, Portugal, Australia and the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.

Sauternes and Cherries — A Special Summer Pairing

July 23, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) 2 comments

Those of us who are regular tasters at the Thursday night wine tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton know one of George’s great loves is Sauternes and cherries. Not just any cherries mind you. They must be cherries that are not overly sweet, just a touch of tartness is what’s desired to counter the sweetness of the Sauternes.

Rosé Rocks!

July 16, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) 2 comments

Rosé is one of the things I like the most about summer. Every year we look forward to seeking out new, and familiar, rosés to enjoy as outdoor temperatures rise. I love rosé for many reasons.

#LodiLive Summer White Wine Tasting

July 9, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

If you’re like many people you think of Lodi as red wine country and Zinfandel country in particular. And while it is true the majority of wine grape production in Lodi is red, there is quite a variety of white grape production as well. Some exciting white wine is being produced in Lodi and this tasting includes just a sampling of those wines.

SakéOne — They Brew Saké in Oregon and Import Saké from Japan Too!

June 27, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

SakéOne has been brewing quality saké in Forest Grove, Oregon just west of Portland for nearly twenty years. They produce 80,000 cases of Saké per year. In addition they import quality saké from Japan into the US. Their brewing experience makes them uniquely qualified to choose the best Japanese saké for import.

#LanguedocDay: a great reason to have a party

June 9, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

We were recently contacted and asked if we would like to participate in a celebration of the wines of the Languedoc region of southern France. It didn’t take long for us to decide yes! We joined others around the country in celebrating #LanguedocDay on May 30. We invited a few of our wine friends and put together dishes we thought would match with each of the four wines we received as tasting samples.

‘IL’ Ugo : the name will make you smile and so will the flavor!

June 6, 2014 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

‘IL’ Ugo is a sparkling cocktail produced by Mionetto that is inspired by a favorite northern Italian cocktail called the Hugo. The flavors are unlike anything we have tasted and we found it interesting and delicious.