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?
Tom Hoffman wasn’t always a winemaker. He used to teach, in South America. But, eventually he was drawn back to the family farm, to manage the vineyards. For a while he was a home winemaker. His interest in winemaking eventually became Heritage Oak Winery, located within the Mokelumne River AVA of the Lodi appellation. The winery opened in 2007.
Pillsbury Wine Company recently opened a tasting room at their vineyards in Willcox. They call it their Vineyard Cottage and Tasting Room. Sounds cute, doesn’t it? Well it is. Not only that, the drive provides a great sense of what the Sulphur Springs Valley is like.
Karl Wente is fifth-generation winemaker at Wente Vineyards, and was recently named in Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s 40 Under 40: America’s Tastemakers. Winemaking isn’t Karl’s only passion, he also has a serious interest in music. Let’s see how wine and music go together.
We recently had the opportunity to taste a selection of six white wines courtesy of the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Association as part of #winechat on Twitter. The timing could not have been more perfect. With summer temperatures well into the “hot” range, white wines are definitely in order.
An online tasting with wines from Murrieta’s Well and Charles Communications Associates.
The final winery visit included in our Pre-Conference Excursion to the Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2013 (WBC13) was CedarCreek Estate Winery. The series of winery visits, lodging and meals were organized and sponsored by Tourism Kelowna, the wineries and hotels.
The second winery visit we made as part of a Pre-Conference Excursion to the Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2013 in Penticton, British Columbia (WBC13) took us to Tantalus Vineyards, yet another beautiful and unique winery located along the Lakeshore Wine Route in southeast Kelowna.
Recently we received some sample wines to try from Trione Winery in Geyserville California. We had not heard of Trione before and were intrigued by their story. For more than thirty years they have been providing grapes for some of the top wineries in the area such as Duckhorn, Kendall-Jackson and Sonoma-Cutrer among others. They farm almost 700 acres in the Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley and the Sonoma Coast. Only since 2005 have they decided to make their own wines, they opened their tasting room in 2008, and so far they have garnered several awards with subsequent vintages.
Our mission for the Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was to choose a favorite wine to have with hors d’oeuvres and one for a holiday dinner.
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.