One of the many lessons I learned during weekly wine tastings at a local wine shop is that there are many very expensive bottles of wine that taste really good, especially from Napa Valley. It isn’t particularly difficult to find those wines, but what takes a bit more effort is to find those really good wines for less money. What […]
Bella Union is a brand that was established by the partners of Napa Valley’s well-known Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel wineries in 2012. The art of blending Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the focus of the Bella Union winemaking team, in contrast to the single-variety, single-vineyard wines of Nickel & Nickel and the estate wines of Far Niente with […]
Coeur de Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon is a delicious reflection of Napa Valley’s Rutherford sub-AVA and Sullivan Rutherford Estate. The estate was established 50 years ago, with the assistance of esteemed winemaker André Tchelistcheff, a friend of the original owner, James O’Neil Sullivan. This is the second vintage of Coeur de Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon we have tasted. As with the prior […]
Flora Springs, located in Napa Valley’s St. Helena, has been a family operation since its founding in 1978. Jerry and Flora Komes purchased an abandoned property at foot of the Mayacamas Mountains at the western end of Zinfandel Lane in 1977. The historic winery, built in the previous century, had been destroyed by fire and the whole property was in […]
Brothers Stu and Charles Smith have been making wine on Spring Mountain above Napa Valley since the early 1970s. The mountainside location sets Smith-Madrone apart from the valley and so does the brothers’ winemaking style. They make Cabernet Sauvignon in an elegant, old-world style along with lively, oaked Chardonnay and Riesling — yes, Riesling, because they both really love Riesling. […]
Summer is here, temperatures are rising and we’re enjoying lighter meals. We’re grilling and trying to keep cool. White wines are more likely to grace our dinner table this time of year and Grenache Blanc is a delicious choice to accompany meals or sip before dinner. Grenache Blanc from Napa Valley isn’t the most common of choices, but Priest Ranch […]
Today we’re sipping a delightful Cabernet Sauvignon blend that hails from Napa Valley’s Rutherford sub-AVA. We received this wine as a tasting sample and it provided us the opportunity to sip delicious wine and take a brief look at the region’s history. I never know where a wine I taste is going to take me. In the case of Coeur […]
Today we are sipping red wines from Napa Valley made by Flora Springs. Both wines are a celebration of quality winemaking, Cabernet Sauvignon and family. We received both wines as tasting samples. From the very beginning Flora Springs has been a family operation. Flora and Jerry Komes purchased the abandoned winery, originally built between 1885 and 1900 at the foot […]
St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery in Napa Valley believes in its Sauvignon Blanc so much that they established #SauvBlanc Day in 2010 to celebrate the variety. This year we are celebrating Sauvignon Blanc Day with St. Supéry and prepared a spring meal to pair with the 2019 St. Supéry Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, which we received as a tasting sample. […]
Today we are sipping Riesling from Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain District. I know Riesling isn’t the first variety you associate with Napa Valley, but the last thing Stu and Charles Smith seek to do is conform to the expected; if they did, Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery would be located on Napa’s valley floor. Once you taste Smith-Madrone’s Riesling, you too […]
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.
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