I think of wine grapes in much the same way I do of an artist’s set of paints. Both can be used to create a potential masterpiece. An artist’s set of paints can create anything from a modern abstract to something more evocative of the Old Masters. Will it become a Jackson Pollock or a Johannes Vermeer?
When Pinot Noir is good, it can just defy words. Silky, earthy, complex, fruity, delicate, weightless…all at the same time. And then there is the color, transparent garnet, almost the color of iodine at times. Pinot Noir will always be my favorite varietal wine.
We recently had a great vineyard tour at Stolpman Vineyards, located in the Ballard Canyon AVA within the Santa Ynez AVA. It was a warm December afternoon and we were met by Joe Neenan who took us on a driving and walking tour of the vineyards. We wrote about that tour in a prior post.
Wine tasting is fun any time of year, but tramping through a vineyard in December? It might sound crazy, except that we recently did just that and had a great tour thanks to Joe Neenan, ‘Passionista’, from Stolpman Vineyards.
This is the second post reviewing a group of South African wines we received as tasting samples from Cape Classics, an importer of South African (and French) wines in to the US, with distribution in 49 states. We dedicated the prior post to the white wines in the selection.
We have been fans of South African wines since tasting a selection at our local wine shop several years ago. We were delighted to be contacted by Cape Classics, a US importer of a wide selection of wines from South Africa, regarding samples of their wines. We received a nice selection of both red and white wines from South Africa.
With the Holidays fast approaching, you may have a wine lover or two on your shopping list and be in need of a suggestion or two. Here are a few gift ideas for the wine lover in your life.
This is the second of two posts on a group of wines we received for review from Zonin USA. The selection of wine we received shows the range of wine production by Casa Vinicola Zonin S.P.A. Current generations of the Zonin family manage wine estates in seven well-known Italian wine regions (Veneto, Friuli, Piedmont, Lombardy, Tuscany, Sicily and Puglia) and the US state of Virginia at Barboursville.
At a recent Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton, Pete presented the wines for the tasting. Gail asked him for suggestions as to topics for the tasting and they eventually settled on wines that are not the “usual suspects”. It gave us a chance to learn about some smaller wine regions and taste the wines. It was a fun evening that took us on a tour of European wines.
The Holidays are upon us. From now until January, there will be a series of social events to attend, not to mention family gatherings. What to serve, what to take along? Here are two suggestions. We recently received samples from Zonin USA for tasting. Here is our impression and how you might enjoy them.
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.