Several months ago I attended a tasting of Australian Pinot Noir hosted by the San Francisco Wine School. The tasting focused on four cool-climate regions in Australia and brought a taste of the Pinot Noir Celebration Australia, held in the Mornington Peninsula in February, to the US. I attended the tasting and received sample wines as a media guest of […]
Notre Vue Estate & Winery sits on a 710-acre property south of Healdsburg straddling Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill AVAs. 250 acres of vineyards cover the rolling hills, but 350 acres are protected as “Forever Wild” open space. Balverne is a sister label to Notre Vue and both are sourced exclusively from Notre Vue vineyards. We received these […]
BARRA of Mendocino continues their commitment to family farming and crafting delicious certified-organic wines with the recent release of their reserve wines. These new wines remain very reasonably priced and come with some exciting packaging changes. We received these wines as tasting samples. Charlie Barra began farming organically because that’s how he learned to farm from his parents, who emigrated […]
Germany is certainly better known for its white wines, Riesling in particular, than it is for its red wines. But Germany’s cool growing conditions can result in red wines with lively flavors that are food friendly and have very modest alcohol. Chill them during summer and enjoy them at room temperature in winter. Today we’re sipping two such wines that […]
Siduri is a name synonymous with quality Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards as far north as Oregon’s Willamette Valley and south to California’s Santa Barbara County. Adam Lee and his wife Dianna Novy released their first wines in 1994. Between that time and early 2015 when Siduri and Novy Family Wines (a second winery the couple established focusing on Syrah […]
Since 2007 Davis Bynum Winery has been a member of the family of wines owned by Rodney Strong Wine Estates. By the time Davis Bynum sold his winery to Rodney Strong it had a well-established reputation for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley. Today Rodney Strong winemaker Greg Morthole has the responsibility of carrying on Davis Bynum’s […]
The three wines in this tasting have at least three things in common: organic viticulture, Chilean origin, affordability. And all three wineries, along with Neyen, are sister wineries. We received these wines as tasting samples. Organic wine choices are finally becoming more common and more wineries are putting their organic certification on the wine bottle, though not all do. That’s […]
I think we can all agree that a glass of sparkling wine makes any occasion (more fun). And, who doesn’t want to have fun on Valentine’s Day? Whether you celebrate with your spouse, partner, friend(s) or on your own, a glass of sparkling wine is in order to celebrate love. That glass might as well contain Cava, the traditional method […]
Cava has its origins in the Penedès region of Spain near Barcelona and is made in four zones around the country. Both local grape varieties and those used in Champagne are used in winemaking and as a result Cava offers a unique flavor profile along with mouth-filling bubbles. Today we are tasting a range of Cavas to help us understand […]
Opening a bottle of sparkling wine takes a bit of additional care and attention, but the reward is a glass of wine made more beautiful by its lively bubbles. Once you sip that wine the bubbles fill your mouth adding texture and energy, in addition to a variety of flavors. And there is something mesmerizing about simply watching the bubbles […]
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.