He explains that he's making wine for a broad range of customers, from the person who has never tasted wine to the true connoisseur. "I don't buy enough wine to keep us in business", he says, so he makes wines for the people on the other side of the counter. He listens to his customers, too, and enjoys interacting with them.
We awoke yesterday morning to torrential rains. We decided to head to Sonoma and some of my old stomping grounds. The drive was an adventure, with winds whipping and rain coming down so hard we could barely see the road.
Whereas he used to believe you were a good winemaker if you could analyze a wine down to its chemical base, he now realizes the importance of time spent in the vineyards understanding how the fruit is grown and being able to manipulate the vineyards to optimize the quality of the fruit.
Three Leaning Tower of Pisas and an Eiffel Tower in Temecula? It's all in a weekend's work. The Temecula Winegrowers Association presented its 20th popular Worl...
Ken told me one of the things that has appealed to the partners so much is the sense of community here. "We're all here for the grapes." It's not uncommon to see winemakers helping each other out when the need arises.
I’ve known Jim Hart for a few years now. I run into him on occasion at Hart Winery. His dad, Joe, is a one of the pioneers of Temecula Valley wine making. He st...
All went well for several years until the winemaker who was leasing announced he was soon leaving. After months of looking for a new leasee and also searching her own mind and heart, Terri went to work in January 2006 at a new career – winery owner. As you might expect from a resourceful savvy businesswoman, she knew it would take a top-notch team for Keyways to remain in business.
I recently attended a media dinner at Escondido's Orfila Winery. Ten of us visited with the team that runs the day to day operations at Orfila and enjoyed an extraordinary dinner prepared by Chef Mark Kuhlmann of San Diego based Culinary Underground.
In late September and early October of last year, I visited Nova Scotia for the first time. I am certain it won't be my last. I've already written about Hal...
It's a delicate balance. Temecula Valley's Wine Country brings visitors to the area and pumps dollars into our economy. Supervisor Jeff Stone has spearheaded a plan for future growth.