If Uruguay is on your wine radar it may be for its Tannat. The red grape variety was first brought to Uruguay by a Basque immigrant, Pascual Harriague, around 1860. Tannat has adapted perfectly to Uruguay’s soils and growing conditions and is the most widely-planted variety in Uruguay. The other reason Tannat is so popular in Uruguay is that it suits […]
Soliloquy is one of Flora Springs’ two flagship wines; the other, Trilogy, is a red blend. You would expect a Napa Valley winery to have a flagship red wine, but maybe not a flagship white wine. The folks at Flora Springs, however, are particularly proud of Soliloquy, also the name of the Sauvignon Blanc clone that is the basis for […]
Every winery has a unique story. Sometimes it’s the story of a winemaker who owns a small winery making wine from just a few acres of vines they might not even own. The story of El Coto de Rioja is the opposite — it is the story of the largest winegrower in DOCa Rioja (their own estimate) with wineries and […]
The Pairing is part of a very fancy family of wines that includes JONATA and The Hilt. The Pairing wines are sourced from the same vineyards as JONATA and The Hilt, but from blocks that are too young or don’t fit their vintage style. That’s good for consumers because The Pairing wines are made with the same attention to detail, […]
All things considered we have had a relatively mild summer in Central California. After recently experiencing the heat and humidity of a heat dome in the Midwestern US, we have a new appreciation for temperatures in the mid-90s with relatively low humidity. We also have an appreciation for sipping chilled white wine on a warm evening and today are sharing […]
Bordeaux is best known for its dry red wines, but Bordeaux is also home to delicious dry white wines. With temperatures soaring this summer, here and in much of the Northern Hemisphere, a crisp white wine is just what I want in my wine glass. We recently tasted three dry white Bordeaux wines, sent to us as tasting samples, that […]
If you have had any introduction to wines from Uruguay it’s likely been Tannat, Uruguay’s flagship variety. I remember them for their firm tannins and complex, ripe fruit flavors. It makes sense that in a country where cows outnumber residents 4:1, and where grilling meat is a fine art (Uruguayans eat the most meat per capita anywhere in the world), […]
New Zealand may produce only 1% of the world’s wines, but that small volume of wine is very well known among wine enthusiasts; especially its zesty Sauvignon Blanc. According to New Zealand Wine, Sauvignon Blanc represents 72% of New Zealand’s wine production and 85% of its wine exports. It is made in a range of styles using both stainless steel […]
Sauvignon Blanc is having a bit of a moment. Demand is so strong that, according to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, some California wineries can’t keep up. The article goes on to note that Chardonnay is still the most popular white varietal wine by quite a bit, but the demand for a fresher style of white wine […]
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 […]
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.