Any wine lover familiar with Sonoma wine will know the Benziger name. I most closely associate the name with Benziger Family Winery and their commitment to sustainable, organic and biodynamic viticulture. The winery recently celebrated 20 years of Demeter Biodynamic® certification. Joe is one of several Benziger siblings who with their father and brother Mike founded Benziger Family Winery in […]
Theopolis Vineyards is situated in the Yorkville Highlands AVA in the southern part of California’s Mendocino County. Theodora R. Lee is the owner and winemaker, but the winery is not her sole focus. The native Texan is a law firm partner and trial lawyer in San Francisco. She developed a serious interest in wine after moving to San Francisco, which […]
The Lost Chapters is the name of a range of wines made by Paul Scotto and Mitch Cosentino. This dynamic duo of winemakers collaborate on twenty-odd wine labels under the Scotto Cellars umbrella of wines. Both winemakers are blending specialists. Paul considers himself a blendologist, using grape varieties to make wine with layers of flavors the way a chef uses […]
Parducci Wine Cellars was founded in 1921, making it the oldest winery in Mendocino County still making wine. That milestone is being celebrated with the release of 85, which also honors John Parducci who was known as Mr. Mendocino. Parducci was a lover of Petit Sirah so, as part of the celebration, a vertical of Parducci True Grit Petite Sirah […]
Lodi “Outside the Box” Thanksgiving is the title of a recent online tasting hosted by LoCA, the Lodi Winegrape Commission. We were invited to participate in the tasting and in addition to sending us four wines as tasting samples, LoCA also sent along recipes to accompany each wine. The recipes were created by Chef Tony Lawrence, who is a sommelier and certified wine and food pairing specialist (among many other talents.)
The Peter Mondavi family and Charles Krug Winery have much to celebrate in 2014. The winery has completed an ambitious renovation of both their vineyards and winery as well as the Redwood Cellar tasting room originally built in 1872. Owner Peter Mondavi Sr. will celebrate his 100th birthday this year and the Charles Krug Winery spring release wines from the 2011 vintage represent both the 150th Anniversary harvest and the inaugural release of the Family Reserve Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
As the folks at Borra Vineyards put it, “Yeah. We make nice Zin. But there’s more to Lodi than Zinfandel.” It’s a good thing to remember, actually, to always keep an open mind with regard to wine and wine regions and what they have to offer.
What a spectacular day! The weather was much too warm for early April, but perfect for an outing to the Richmond side of San Francisco Bay. Can’t say I had ever been to Richmond before, just driven through the city on the way to somewhere else. So, when I noticed the Rhone Rangers celebration was to be held in part at Craneway Conference Center and Pavilion at Ford Point, Richmond I was curious.
Wine and cheese can be a great pairing. Read about our recent tasting of Lodi wines with cheese from around the world. It left us wanting more of both and planning a visit to downtown Lodi.
This was our second visit to Dos Cabezas WineWorks. In 2011 it was the first Arizona winery we visited on our first tour of the Sonoita wine area. Six wines were on their tasting sheet that August, all red, one a fortified dessert wine. This year we enjoyed tasting through the since-expanded tasting sheet, eleven wines in all.
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.