Stuart Smith knew he needed to look to the mountains of Napa Valley, not the valley floor, to find a site that would allow him to make the elegant, balanced, acid-driven wines he enjoyed drinking. He found what he was looking for in a 200-acre property on Spring Mountain. The property had been home to a small vineyard in the […]
Cenyth is a collaboration between Julia Jackson and Hélène Seillan, both of whom grew up in wine families. The longtime friends call Sonoma County home and each contributes artistically to the project. Julia, daughter of Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke, created the artwork for the labels. Hélène Seillan, daughter of winemaker Pierre Seillan of Vérité, makes the wines. Both Cenyth […]
This is the time of year we wine drinkers begin to step up our search for white and rosé wines for summer enjoyment. Cue the spring winery releases. We recently received these two new wines from Napa Valley’s Ehlers Estate as tasting samples and we are happy to share them with you. Ehlers Estate is tucked away in Napa Valley […]
December 4 is #CabFrancDay, a celebration of one of my favorite grape varieties. Because I am such a Cabernet Franc lover, I’m especially happy to participate in this year’s Cab Franc Day celebration. We received two wines, one we know well and the other new to us, as tasting samples. Cheers to Cabernet Franc on December 4 and everyday! Why […]
Flora Springs in Napa Valley’s St. Helena goes all out for Halloween and with good reason. Their beautiful stone winery is considered one of Napa’s ghost wineries, which means it was built between 1860 and 1900, was abandoned for a time and then rescued and renovated to become part of the modern winery at Flora Springs. Today we’re getting in […]
Before visiting Peju Winery in Napa Valley’s Rutherford AVA I knew the winery primarily for its distinctively-pruned sycamore trees arching over the driveway leading to the winery. I always look for them as we drive along Hwy 29. Click on individual photographs in galleries to view. Close to return to the post. Our first taste of Peju wine came in […]
Both the Kautz family name and Ironstone Vineyards are familiar to me, as they are to many residents in and around Lodi where I associate the Kautz name with farming and viticulture. The sprawling Ironstone winery, located in the Sierra Foothills town of Murphys, is a destination winery. In addition to wine tasting and the wine cave there is a […]
Cabernet Franc is the focus of this month’s Wine Pairing Weekend (#winePW) group of wine and food enthusiasts. Can you see the broad smile on my face? Cabernet Franc is one of my favorite varietal wines because it makes delicious wine whether it’s grown in a cool region resulting in a bright, red fruit wine or in warmer regions resulting […]
Today’s cellar note has us savoring Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley. This bright, balanced Cabernet Franc has just about everything I enjoy in cool-climate Cab Franc. This wine is not a tasting sample, we purchased this wine through a wine club. 2014 Beatrice & Pascal Lambert ‘Les Perruches’, Chinon — pale ruby in the glass with translucence at the […]
In today’s Cellar Note we share our tasting notes for two wines made by Andrew Jones. To be honest, Andrew Jones is a new winemaker to us and, as it turns out, his story is pretty interesting. Both wines are tasting samples that came to us by chance — a chance encounter on Twitter with Mark Aselstine, co-owner of Uncorked […]
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.