Eastern Promise is the fourth book chronicling the adventures of Felix Hart, Minstrel of Wine and global traveler. The action starts right from the first chapter as Felix attends a tasting of older Bordeaux, which quickly becomes chaotic. Felix, of course, always has to be in the middle of it. Little did he know how much this would affect his future. […]
We are continuing our exploration of Arizona wine for one more post, though I cannot promise it will be the last. We are happy to share three current-release wines made by Aridus Wine Company in Willcox, Arizona. We received these wines as tasting samples. Scott & Joan Dahmer began their journey from wine enthusiasts to winery owners in 2009 with […]
Sonoita is Arizona’s oldest AVA and was established in 1984. It was the first, but its neighboring and second Arizona AVA, Willcox, produces most of the grapes in Arizona. We first visited Sonoita/Elgin in 2011 and were surprised and charmed by the open grasslands. The high-elevation grasslands sit at about 4800 feet above sea level. The Santa Rita Mountains to […]
Several months ago I attended a tasting of Australian Pinot Noir hosted by the San Francisco Wine School. The tasting focused on four cool-climate regions in Australia and brought a taste of the Pinot Noir Celebration Australia, held in the Mornington Peninsula in February, to the US. I attended the tasting and received sample wines as a media guest of […]
It has been five years since we last visited Arizona’s Willcox wine region in the southeastern part of the state. We have missed the wide open spaces with cloud-filled skies that go on for miles. We’ve missed hiking in the mountains that surround the Sulphur Springs Valley. We missed relaxing among the mesquite trees and birdwatching at our favorite B&B. […]
While it is true that we enjoy red wines more often in the cooler months of fall and winter, we are always happy to discover red wines to enjoy during spring and summer too. When we do drink red wines in warmer weather we prefer red wines that aren’t quite so rich and heavy bodied. We still look for complex […]
Quite a bit has changed since 2017 when we first published a post about the Scottsdale Wine Trail. The wine trail is collection of Arizona winery tasting rooms located in Old Town and downtown Scottsdale. One winery has relocated on the trail, three new wineries have joined and one has left. The tasting rooms are all located within about six […]
Notre Vue Estate & Winery sits on a 710-acre property south of Healdsburg straddling Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill AVAs. 250 acres of vineyards cover the rolling hills, but 350 acres are protected as “Forever Wild” open space. Balverne is a sister label to Notre Vue and both are sourced exclusively from Notre Vue vineyards. We received these […]
BARRA of Mendocino continues their commitment to family farming and crafting delicious certified-organic wines with the recent release of their reserve wines. These new wines remain very reasonably priced and come with some exciting packaging changes. We received these wines as tasting samples. Charlie Barra began farming organically because that’s how he learned to farm from his parents, who emigrated […]
This third group of wines curated by Sheila Donohue on her website VeroVino, and sent to us as tasting samples, is a treasure trove of unusual grape varieties and lesser-known (at least to us) wine regions in northern Italy. As usual, these VeroVino wines are made by small producers using sustainable or organic practices in their vineyard and cellar. I […]
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.
