Napa

Pairings July 7, 2011

Trinitas Carneros Pinot Noir 2009 Paired with Cedar Plank Sockeye Salmon

Oh, this was a good one! Last week I picked up a small bundle of cedar planks from the Riverside Arts Market here in Jacksonville; kind of an impulse purchase really since I’ve never actually cooked anything using cedar planks.The recipe I selected to test out my newly acquired planks was admittedly the first one I found after throwing “Cedar Plank Salmon” into Google. Luckily it panned out! The recipe itself is very simple; just…

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Reviews June 30, 2011

Orin Swift The Prisoner 2009 Review

Grapes 51% Zinfandel, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Syrah, 7% Petite Sirah, 3% Charbono, 1% Grenache, 1% Malbec, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.   Facts The label for The Prisoner was work of Spanish artist Francisco Goya. For the 2009 vintage, the debut tasting apparently took place at a prison location in San Francisco’s Presidio military base near the Golden Gate Bridge.

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News June 6, 2011

Thinking of Opening a Winery in Napa? You Should Probably Read this First…Part 4 of 4

Following on from yesterdays post, the following is part 4 of 4 of a post made by a friend of mine, Lucas Meeker – Assistant Winemaker at Meeker Vineyards in Sonoma. The post originally appeared on professional Q&A website Quora.com. The question Lucas answered was: What are some Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of Owning a Napa Winery? My annotations throughout the article appear in the form of: [Notes like this], and as always I’ve…

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News June 5, 2011

Thinking of Opening a Winery in Napa? You Should Probably Read this First…Part 3 of 4

Following on from yesterdays post, the following is part 3 of 4 of a post made by a friend of mine, Lucas Meeker – Assistant Winemaker at Meeker Vineyards in Sonoma. The post originally appeared on professional Q&A website Quora.com. The question Lucas answered was: What are some Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of Owning a Napa Winery? My annotations throughout the article appear in the form of: [Notes like this], and as always I’ve…

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News June 4, 2011

Thinking of Opening a Winery in Napa? You Should Probably Read this First…Part 2 of 4

Following on from yesterdays post, the following is part 2 of 4 of a post made by a friend of mine,  Lucas Meeker – Assistant Winemaker at Meeker Vineyards in Sonoma. The post originally appeared on professional Q&A website Quora.com. The question Lucas answered was: What are some Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of Owning a Napa Winery? My annotations throughout the article appear in the form of: [Notes like this], and as always I’ve…

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News June 3, 2011

Thinking of Opening a Winery in Napa? You Should Probably Read this First…

This is a slightly unusual post for me, but I should at least give you a short background on the following posts. This original article appeared on the Quora.com, an extremely useful and fairly new website devoted to questions and answers from people of all backgrounds on a vast array of topics. It’s kind of like Yahoo Answers, except the people answering the questions tend to be much more credible in their knowledge. Make sure…

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News June 3, 2011

Gary Vaynerchuk’s Daily Grape Feature – Azur, Rose Syrah, California 2009

This post is another feature from Gary Vaynerchuk’s Daily Grape wine newsletter. 2009 Azur Rose Syrah, California Varietal: 90% Syrah, 10% Semillon Gary’s explanation of the wine:  With spring in full-effect, it’s getting to be rosé season. Ladies, this will go great with all those outfits. And guys, don’t be afraid of the pink stuff! On a more serious note, there’s so much more out there than just that sweet, White Zin your Grandma used…

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Facts, Funny May 5, 2011

Pretentious Things to Say at a Wine Tasting, Should You Want to…

If you are a regular reader of this site, you probably already know that I don’t take myself too seriously. There is a fine-line though. I like to have fun with wine, but there is occasionally a little more serious side to it. The following is my list of Pretentious Things to Say at a Wine Tasting. This list isn’t hypothetical, these are ACTUAL comments I have heard at wine tastings (apart from the one…

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News April 9, 2011

This Week in Wine…

  Trump buys Kluge winery operation for $6.2 million The Trump Organization, headed by business mogul and potential presidential candidate Donald Trump, bought the bulk of the Kluge Estate Winery & Vineyard at auction. So it seems that The Donald wants to get into winemaking! It’s nice to see that he wants to restore Kluge to its former glory, only time will tell how that works out for him! No word on whether he’s going…

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Interview February 25, 2011

A Quick Chat with Ted Henry, Winemaker for Jarvis.

How long have you been with Jarvis? Three years at Jarvis, previously before that I was at Artesa in Carneros working on their Chardonnay and Pinot but also working on an Alexander Valley property they purchased called Ridgeline. So about three years ago the opening at Jarvis came up. To me Jarvis is the ideal winemakers paradise. It’s an estate model so it’s all about the vineyard, but they have some of the best equipment…

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News, Reviews February 24, 2011

Jayson Woodbridge and his Charity Case

  Charity Case is the latest side project by winemaking superstar Jayson Woodbridge. Whilst Jayson isn’t exactly a household name, the wines he produces are certainly getting that way. You may know Mr. Woodbridge from such wines as Layer Cake and Hundred Acre. The Charity Case Foundation was formed in’08 as a long-term project in support of Napa Valley Charities. Jayson started by calling wineries in the Valley to see if they would donate their…

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Reviews February 21, 2011

Groth Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Grapes Sauvignon Blanc 96%, Semillon [SEM-ee-yawn] 4% Facts The warmer weather is coming folks, so let’s get some more white wine reviews up in here!!! Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are the main two whites grapes of the Bordeaux region of France. If you ever see a white Bordeaux, most likely it’s going to be a blend of the two. Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle are the only three grapes that are allowed in white “Meritage”…

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