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.
#WineStudio is an online Twitter-based wine tasting and discussion organized by the folks at Protocol Wine Studio. They are wine geeks with a passion for teaching and promoting wines from around the world. We just completed their session on Hungary and Slovenia and like what we tasted.
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.
Wine Pairing Weekend is the idea of food blogger David Crowley. His goal was to get food bloggers writing about wine and wine bloggers writing about food. We thought it sounded like a fun idea and jumped right in. Read about what we grilled and what wine we though went best.
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 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.
The Peter Mondavi family and Charles Krug Winery have much to celebrate in 2014. The winery has completed an ambitious renovation of both their vineyards and winery as well as the Redwood Cellar tasting room originally built in 1872. Owner Peter Mondavi Sr. will celebrate his 100th birthday this year and the Charles Krug Winery spring release wines from the 2011 vintage represent both the 150th Anniversary harvest and the inaugural release of the Family Reserve Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
Ribera del Duero is a wine region located on the northern plateau of Spain known for producing quality wines from Tempranillo. The weather is inhospitable, the soils are complex and the elevation is mostly more than 2500 feet above sea level. Local winemakers work their magic with Tempranillo planted along the Duero River and at higher elevations.
Rioja is a wine region located in northern Spain (between Bilbao and Madrid) that is highly regarded for its Tempranillo, which comprises the majority of the plantings in the region. Garnacha, Carignan and Graciano are also planted and are most often blending partners to Tempranillo.
As the folks at Borra Vineyards put it, “Yeah. We make nice Zin. But there’s more to Lodi than Zinfandel.” It’s a good thing to remember, actually, to always keep an open mind with regard to wine and wine regions and what they have to offer.
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.