“Roasting a barrel is like roasting coffee,” says colorfully-spoken winemaker and GM of Bouchaine Vineyards, Michael Richmond. We are talking about the influence of French oak on the 2008 Pinot Noir, and as is the case when wine geeks get together, the conversation turns to toast (not the kind you have at breakfast) and [...]

Elizabeth Marston and Husband Jamie of Marston Family Winery at Park Avenue Spring   Last Thursday it was very exciting to meet Elizabeth Marston and her husband Jamie, who with Elizabeth’s parents run Marston Family Vineyard in the Napa Valley. Of course, with Auction Napa Valley 2011 (# ANV11) beginning this coming June 2, 2011 [...]

“All I wanted was an almond croissant,” says winemaker and co-woner Les Behrens of Erna Schein winery (formerly known as Behrens & Hitchcock). Les is talking about the fateful day in 1996 when he and wife and winery co-owner Lisa Drinkward drove to Los Angeles and had the fortuitous idea of dropping a bottle of [...]

  So you know all about the e-auction that opens May 29, 2011 in alignment with the Auction Napa Valley 2011, yes? I am spotlighting certain producers and interesting lots that every wine lover (and supporter of the Napa Valley’s charities) should know about. Today the focus is on Signorello Estates … a premium winery [...]

  Some people like the excitement and energy of a live auction … others prefer to relax in the comfort of their own (international!) homes. Yes, the Napa Valley Auction is now also electronic … starting May 29, 2011 wine lovers around the globe can bid on and win lots.  There are lots of fun [...]

  Look at the incredible aerial view of Marston Family Vineyard above … even so far away, one gets an incredible sense of the soil that produces such incredible Cabernet Sauvignon. Marston Family Vineyard was first planted in the late 1890’s on the southern slopes of Spring Mountain, just west of St. Helena. The vineyard [...]

  Have you been to the Napa Valley Wine Auction? It is held this year June 2- 5 and is such an incredible long celebratory weekend. This past January, more than sixty winemakers and winery owners came to New York to present their wines for the trade and press in anticipation of the (trade-only) Premiere [...]

  “Have you tasted their Sauvignon Blanc? It rocks!” To be clear, we are speaking of the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc from the Arkenstone Vineyards estate in Howell Mountain. And “rock” is the appropriate word, for even though this is a California Sauvignon Blanc, the minerality is incredible. “Limestone soil?” I ask owner Susan Krausz over [...]

It’s always fun when the Napa Vintners association comes to New York — the owners and winemakers take a break from pouring at consumer and press functions, and are able to relax a bit and talk about their wines. I first met Shirley Roy a few years ago at a trade event … and had [...]

Today the American Sommelier Society invited their members to hear Nicki Pruss, winemaker for Stags Leap present her wines. I had met Nicki last year at the Master of Wine conference in Napa, as the winery invited us to tour the vineyards and meet Nicki and tsste the wines. Today’s tastings started with 2008 Arcadia [...]

  .. in these economic times everyone is looking for a way to get great quality wine at a value. The "private selection" name sounds posh but the bottom line is  that this new brand offers both value and quality because of the Mondavi name. I tried both the 2008 Meritage and Cabernet Sauvignon and [...]

  Rather risky, don’t you think, to put a California sparkling wine up for comparison among some of the best houses in Champagne? Yet that’s what Hugh Davies did in NYC recently when presenting his sparkling wines to a very select group of journalists. “Of course, I can detect a California sparkler!” you might think [...]

Brooks Painter, winemaker   … so recently I received three wines from V. Sattui Winery, a family owned winery dedicated to making handcrafted wines in small lots. As is the current trend, the wines are only sold at the winery or direct shipped. This is a practice that makes sense in our competitive market, and [...]

… it’s always fun to sit next to a winemaker / winery owner during a wine dinner at a top restaurant like Park Avenue Spring in New York City. It was the first time I would meet Dennis Cakebread, and it was a thrill to be able to taste the wines and pepper him with [...]

Taylor Mason, Resident Chef …. it seems like I’ve been going to the Napa Valley every few weeks this year. Only February, and I’ve been in late January for the Master of Wine educational seminar and just last week, the Symposium for Professional Wine Journalists and the Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Auction. Usually Yountville looks [...]

Gary Fisch (stripped shirt) of Gary’s Wine and Marketplace (location New Jersey) ,,, so here I am, freshly returned to NYC after a week in Napa tasting fantastic wine, spending time with fellow journalists at the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood, and attending many of the festivities and tastings leading up to the [...]

Wednesday’s events took place at the CIA in the famed Greystone building. Jeff Morgan, winemaker and author whom I interviewed many times, gave a fabulous brief on winemaking bore Karen MacNeil (author of The Wine Bible and now invited to the Hall of Fame from our Wine Media Guild) in New York and Eric Asimov, Wine Editor of the New York Times, gave a great presentation on tasting notes.

  Chardonnay is everyone’s favorite grape … it can take on so many expessions. Increasingly, you should recognize that many old world producers, especially in Macon, are edging towards new world appellations in style while some new world producers are trying to emulate old world producers.  So for those of us who appreciate the apple pie a la mode [...]

Are you a jaded diner? In today’s power-packed culinary world, many people are lucky enough to visit four and five star restaurants as a matter of course. Twenty years ago, for example, dining at a top restaurant would be because…

Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenswood Want to be a winemaker? It sounds like a lot of fun, and of course, it can be. And to hear the rags to riches (well, not quite rags) story of how Joel Peterson, founding winemaker ofRavenswood, created an internationally famous brand is mesmerizing. Joel was born in 1947 the [...]