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Wine Reviews
Article: Solving a Food and Wine Pairing Puzzle at Tadich Grill
Finding a good wine pairing for cioppino is a challenge. Cioppino is essentially a stew made with tomatoes, wine and all kinds of seafood — but always a lot of shellfish. There’s usu...
Article: Avoiding Hometown Palate aka Throwing a Dinner Party
When Grand Prix motorcycle racers crash and go sliding down the track on their back, they have to be very careful when standing up. Their brain has become accustomed to the high speeds of...
Article: 2007 Wente Pinot Noir Reliz Creek Arroyo Seco
Wente Vineyards is known primarily for its Livermore Valley winery and vineyards. However, they have held vineyards in Monterey County for decades. The vast majority of...
Article: 1986 Ridge Petite Sirah Essence California
When you think of Ridge wine, you probably think of either their balanced and flavorful Zinfandel-based wines or their iconic Bordeaux-inspired Monte Bello red blends. Perhaps...
Article: 2006 Robert Mondavi Winery Sauvignon Blanc I Block, To Kalon Vineyard Oakville, Napa Valley
The To Kalon Vineyard in Napa Valley’s Oakville District was established shortly after the end of the American Civil War. H.W. Crabb, an Ohio native who had come west to mine for gold but switched to farming after 6 months, bought land there in 1...
Article: 2005 Tayerle Troubador
Tayerle is a small wine brand which sources grapes and then makes the wines at facilities in Oakland, Paso Robles and Sonoma. Founder Loren Tayerle has worked on the...
Article: Top Wines from the 2010 Pinot Days Grand Tasting
The 2010 Pinot Days Grand Tasting was held on June 27 at Fort Mason in San Francisco. More than 212 wineries were on hand pouring their Pinot Noir wines. I would be surprised if there were...
Article: Wine Ratings vs Wine Value
In a comment on one of my
Article: 2006 Alpen Cellars Pinot Noir Trinity County
If Heidi moved to the U.S. to...
Article: Free Samples, Blah, Blah, Blog
There seems to be another brouhaha brewing about whether or not wine writers should accept free wine samples and what effect said samples have on the subsequent reviews. Some argue...
Article: 95 Points Are the New 90 in Bordeaux
In a
Article: A Taste Test of Tiny Trefethen Wine Samplers
Back in April, I wrote an
Article: Notes from the Karen Culler Wines Tasting at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant
The Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in San Francisco’s Ferry Building consistently offers interesting a...
Article: 2008 Blackstone Zinfandel Winemaker’s Select California
The 2008 Blackstone Zinfandel Winemaker’s Select is solid yet inexpensive wine that is worthy of serious consideration for your backyard BBQs or “pizza and a...
Article: 2008 Olson Ogden Marsanne Margaret’s Mandate Stagecoach Vineyard Napa Valley
As Summer approaches many wine enthusiasts start moving from red to white. That doesn’t have to mean a steady diet of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc though. There’s a wide variety of... varieties from which to choose. Whether you’re looking for a solo...
Article: 2000 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
I perused our wine cellar Friday night looking for a versatile red wine. I wanted one with fairly moderate alcohol to bring to dinner that night in Livermore at the
Article: 2007 Ravenswood Zinfandel Vintners Blend California
It’s always nice to be able to recommend wines that are below $10 because they are just plain good, rather than “good for the money.” I tasted the 2007 Ravenswood...
Article: 2007 Sequana Pinot Noir Sundawg Ridge Vineyard, Green Valley of Russian River Valley
Wine can be fickle. You never really know exactly what you’re going to get when you open a bottle, even if you’ve tried the wine before. Wine changes over time. It tastes and smells different depending on the temperature, humidity and the glass you...
Article: 2008 Paraiso Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands
I first tried this wine during a tasting room survey of the Santa Lucia Highlands. I tasted several very good wines that day. However, the 2008 Paraiso Pinot Noir Santa...
Article: 2007 Ridge Monte Bello
In writing about wines I find it is sometimes necessary to do things one ought not. Tasting (and of course spitting ) one hundred wines in a day is one of those things. Another is opening a bottle of