With summer soon to be upon us and the patio calling for an evening of warm sunsets and cool white wines, I thought I’d share some of our favorite white wines from the recent posts Bacchus and Beery Wine Reviews page. There are many more great whites out there and part of our job is to find them for you… and we will!
Check out our free wine reviews. We update them all the time. Just click on the Wine Review tab up above. Continue reading »
Spring is upon us and nature has provided another excuse to spend a day or a weekend in Wine Country. Napa Valley is so beautiful in the spring and summer that often we’d rather taste outdoors immersed in the vineyards and terrior while we enjoy a glass or two from the winery. There are any number of wineries offering outdoor wine tasting or drinking opportunities so I thought I’d share with a few of our favorites, V. Sattui, Mumm Napa and Alpha Omega Winery. So sit back and imagine an 85 degree cloudless day in Napa Valley and we’ll head out to spend a leisurely afternoon at three of our favorite spots. Continue reading »
Each March we make a concerted effort to head to Austin, Texas for the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival (2011). This four day festival (nearly 20 events to choose from) goes from Thursday to Sunday, usually during the last weekend of the month. Unfortunately this year, we did not arrive until late Thursday night forcing us to miss the Stars Across Texas Gala. This event is a walk around Bacchanalia with world renowned chefs and wines from around the world. Though Texas wines are featured, there are plenty of delicious offerings from California, Oregon, Washington and elsewhere. Though, as I said we were unable to attend, the consensus was it was a great event and “better than last year,” which we thought was pretty darn good. Continue reading »
Napa Valley in early spring does not always offer the most hospitable weather. Though the valley can be flooded with spring rains, it is not flooded with tourists. On weekdays you feel like you have the whole place to yourself. The restaurants are full but not overflowing, the tasting room staff has plenty of time to educate, no need to elbow people out of the way to get to another pour and even winemakers have time to chat. Early spring in Napa does have its benefits, so join us at the Ceja Vineyards Tasting Room and Titus Vineyards Winery, two of our new favorite stops. Continue reading »
The unusually warm and sunny San Francisco February weather retreated in favor of a cold windy downpour as we arrived for our first 2011 wine country visit. We had much on our blogging plate for the ten days. Winemaker interviews, winery visits, wine tastings, the Vintners Hall of Fame Dinner, Symposium for Professional Wine Writers and the Premiere Napa Barrel Tasting and Wine Auction were more than enough to make the average liver cry uncle. As you can see being a wine blogger is just “damn hard work.”
After the 90 minute rain soaked drive to Napa, our first pit stop was not a winery, but Target to buy a new massive suitcase to replace the one whose wheels had suffered irreparable damage in the gentle care of too many baggage handlers. After dragging the heavy broken-wheeled bag through SFO, on to the tram, then through the rental car building only to drive in a downpour, we were ready for some wine to revive the soul.
Our first stop was the John Anthony Wines Tasting Lounge in downtown Napa next door to the Avia Hotel. The hip décor includes a tasting bar as well as comfortable seating to just sit back and drink some wine. At night the Tasting Lounge turns into more of cool wine bar scene. We liked the wines and atmosphere so much we met friends there for a pre-dinner glass of wine, later in the week. Continue reading »
