It’s day 2 of the Wine Bloggers Conference, and we’re off on the little yellow school buses to explore some of the Walla Walla terroir. Fortunately for us Bay Area folks,who aren’t used to the heat, it was a warm but pleasant day for walking around the vineyards and our bus was off and ready [...]
Posts under ‘varietals’
G is for Pinot Blanc!
Graff Family 2007, from the Chalone appelation to be precise. Graff Familiy is from Sonoma, but these grape hail from teh Chalone region in Monterey County. The Chalone AVA has some of the oldest producing vines in California wine country, and is composed of limestone, granite and clay. The wide diurnal temperature swings are great for Chardonnay and other white wines [...]
You shook me all morning long
Hospices du Rhône. Day 2. What happens when you take several hundred (probably hungover, definitely tired) wine writers, bloggers, lovers, and somms, and throw them in a conference room at 9am with eight glasses of wine in front of them ? Lots and lots of champagne. that’s what happens. wait…strike that. Reverse it. But you can’t! [...]
Rhône – The Next Generation
Where no WineBrat has gone before…I am the first one to admit that I am uneducated about most wines outside my sphere of influence; yes I drink them, yes I occasionally enjoy them, but I don’t know much about them. When I was invited to attend Hospice du Rhône this year as a media guest, [...]
E is for Elk!
Somewhere along the way of my Alphabet Challenge, I lost my path and started speaking in tongues, which made my order slightly questionable. Well, I’m back, from outer space, and am restarting with the letter E. E is for Elk Cove Pinot Noir, from the Willamette Valley appellation in Oregon. Now, i am new to [...]
We didn’t go for the almonds but…
Jordan Winery is a hidden gem in Alexander Valley. Up a winding driveway, through the woods, and yes – even over a creek, you meander up to the upper vineyard of the winery, where the French inspired chateau winery sits. It was founded in 1972, coincidentally the same year both I and our host john [...]
Arrested Development
After our adventure barrel tasting at Cartograph, we were lucky enough (ok fine, Alan knows people) to be treated to a very special private tasting at Arista Winery. I’ve been to Arista before, and have always enjoyed their Pinot Noirs, but this was realy a treat a we were able to taste 7 older vintages [...]
On the birth of a winery
If you’ve been reading my blog for the past year or so, you know that I’ve ingratiated myself become friends with the Cellar Rat (@cellarrat), Alan Baker, and his partner Serene Lourie (@slourie), who have launched their new brand, Cartograph Wines. Morphing out of Alan’s previous project, Cellar Rat Cellars, which was some damn fine Pinot [...]
Rhône if you want to!
Rhône around the world. in 11 short days, the penultimate Rhône wine event will commence in Paso Robles. This year, I am jumping up and down on my sofa like Tom Cruise, because I get to attend, along with some of my best blogger friends as well as several hundred Rhone wine lovers from around the [...]
Soléna Soléna Soléna!
I first found out about Soléna Estate wines from my blogger friend Ryan Reichert, (@oenoblog)when he moved to Oregon to start his new career in the wine industry. Through Ryan, I was introduced to Lynnette Shaw, the tasting room manager at Soléna. When Lynnette was in San Francisco for the Chronicle Wine Competition Grand Tasting, we got [...]
