Pull That Cork

2005 Sodaro Private Reserve Estate Blend

November 1, 2010 by Peter Comments are Disabled

The 2005 Sodaro Private Reserve is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 20%Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec. The color was a dark garnet. There was ripe dark fruit, green pepper and a little vanilla in the nose. The flavor had dark ripe fruit with a burst of cedar. There was a light round body with smooth tannins […]

White Burgundy

October 30, 2010 by Peter Comments are Disabled

White Burgundy was the theme for this Thursday night’s tasting. We had a pretty good turnout this week, about 15 people showed up. White Burgundy is interesting because it is the Chardonnay grape but in an entirely different style than we are used to in this country. So many American Chardonnays go through a malolactic fermentation and then are so […]

Birthday Wines

October 25, 2010 by Peter 5 comments

Saturday night we celebrated my birthday with some great wine. Nancy’s mom and a couple of our friends came over for dinner. We decided to make pulled pork for dinner. We bought a pork shoulder roast, mixed-up a dry rub and “rubbed” the roast Friday night. It sat in the refrigerator all night with the rub on it, and then […]

Thursday Night Riesling

October 25, 2010 by Nancy (CSW) 2 comments

The wine tasting this week at Fine Wines of Stockton was presented by Brad Alderson, winemaker and wine consultant. Brad was the founding winemaker for the Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Winery. He has a particular affinity for and broad knowledge of German Rieslings. He has spent a lot of time in the German wine growing areas and has many friends in […]

Napa Valley Wine Trip Part 2

October 22, 2010 by Peter Comments are Disabled

After Tasting all the wines at Provenance we decided we wanted to get some food before tackling any more wine. Also, having spent 2 hours at Provenance it was past lunch time so we went down the road a mile or two and stopped at the Rutherford Grill. They said it would be an hour wait and it had started […]

Napa Valley Wine Trip

October 20, 2010 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

We decided on a whim to take a drive to Napa last Sunday. The weather forecast was for overcast, showery weather, so no working in the yard. The weather became drizzly as we passed Rio Vista. The smell of the first rain was earthy and wonderful. By the time we got to Napa it was raining very hard. The grape […]

2007 Santa Ema Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon

October 20, 2010 by Peter Comments are Disabled

2007 Santa Ema Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon – This Chilean wine is a dark ruby color with hints of violet around the edges. It has a earthy dark fruit nose. The flavor is a light amount of green pepper, big dark fruit and bitter chocolate. There is a medium length finish. Overall quite a nice flavorful wine. It was aged for […]

Pinot and Pork Chops

October 19, 2010 by Peter Comments are Disabled

We had an interesting wine this Monday with Dave. First, dinner! Nancy cut up a bunch of vegetables, carrots, onions, garlic (whole cloves), red potatoes and brussels sprouts. She put them in a casserole dish and splashed some olive oil and salt and pepper on top and put in the oven at 350 degrees. I had been to the market […]

Exciting Wine Trip Coming Up

October 17, 2010 by Peter Comments are Disabled

Today Nancy and I took a trip to the Napa Valley. We had a great time, tasted wine at Provenance Vineyards, lunch at the Rutherford Grill and then tried a new winery we had never heard of or been to before. On the way home we went down the Silverado Trail and chose a winery at random. It was the […]

Piedmont Wines Tonight

October 17, 2010 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

Craig gave us an education on wines from the Piedmont region of Italy for this Thursday night’s tasting. Piedmont is in the northern part of Italy surrounded by mountains. The most well known grapes in Piedmont are Dolcetto, Nebbiolo and Barbera. The most famous (and expensive) wines from this region are Barolo and Barbaresco. We tried five different wines from […]