Can you believe it is already time to begin planning for Thanksgiving? Depending on the size of your gathering you will need one or more wines to accompany your meal. Whether you plan a traditional Thanksgiving menu or one that is more modern, Domaine Bousquet has at least one wine from their broad portfolio of wines to accompany your meal. […]
Today we’re taking a virtual trip to one of my favorite Portuguese wine regions: Alentejo. This large inland region is known for sunny days, cork trees, agriculture and its wines. As with other regions in Portugal most wines are blends, but unlike other Portuguese wine regions the use of amphorae in winemaking has persisted since being introduced by the Romans. […]
Are you familiar with California’s Suisun Valley AVA? We weren’t until we drove an alternate route home from Napa Valley that took us over the mountains south of Napa’s Atlas Peak AVA, to Wooden Valley Road, Suisun Valley Road and through picturesque Mankas Corner before joining Hwy 12 in Fairfield. It was the Welcome to Suisun Valley AVA sign that […]
Certified sustainability initiatives have become a part of many wineries’ operations. These certifications are sometimes promoted by wine regions, sometimes individual wineries seek certification on their own, and sometimes, as is the case with Chile’s Sustainability Code for the Chilean Wine Industry (SCWI), they are the result of a country-wide effort. According to Wines of Chile (Vinos de Chile), a […]
Recently we spent a couple of days in the Paso Robles wine region. The three-and-a-half-hour drive makes Paso too far away for a day trip, so we planned an overnight stay. For us, wine travel in the time of COVID means looking for lodging in a small rural property and for wine tasting experiences that are outdoors. Planning ahead is […]
Monastrell, called Mourvèdre and Mataro elsewhere in the wine world, comprises more than 75% of plantings in the dry, inland wine region of Jumilla located in Spain’s southeast corner. And Jumilla is home to Europe’s largest planting of ungrafted 90-year-old bush vines. What better way to discover Jumilla than with a tasting of wines comprised entirely of Monastrell? The three […]
Rodney Strong Vineyards has recently undergone a refresh. The most noticeable change to consumers who visit the winery will be in the remodeled tasting room; to anyone who picks up a bottle of Rodney Strong wine it will be the newly designed wine labels. But less visible changes have been going on behind the scenes for some time in the […]
Winemaker José Luis Moreira da Silva, Zé Luis as he is known more informally, has the challenge of making wine in two Portuguese wine regions. The two regions could not be more different in terms of growing conditions and grape varieties. Fortunately the distance between Vinho Verde and the Douro is not too great, about 90 minutes by car. In […]
The flower garden beneath our second-floor room is in full bloom. Raspberry bushes bear ripe fruit waiting to be picked. Paisley and Clifford, two relaxed longhorns, graze the pasture just beyond the garden. Close by a flock of chickens scratch and peck among the olive trees, with their nighttime roost (a re-purposed travel trailer) set safely within their fenced area. […]
Recently I was invited to sit in on a virtual tasting of Kenwood Vineyards wines paired with cheese. During the tasting Kenwood Vineyards winemaker Zeke Neeley gave us the behind the scenes details of each wine we tasted while chef and cookbook author Gaby Dalkin created a cheeseboard. I came away with a greater understanding of the different ranges of […]
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.
