Jan thought it had a great, spicy nose and lots of plum on the palate. At $15, she thought it was a great value. Ken loved the nose, too and found caramel and cherries on the palate and liked how it paired with sausage. Tony called it a very nice Pinot and said it drank more like a $30 bottle.
She wanted to feature sparkling wines that represented a sense of terroir. She re-paid the loan as soon as she could so she could make the winery uniquely hers.
I recently received an email asking me if I'd be interested in learning about the wines from McGah Family Cellars. The McGah family co-founded the Oakland Raide...
What could compel two grown men to visit a dark bathroom together? The Pink Panda glow in the dark wine bottle label, of course. What else? We started our March...
In 1969, Dick and Nancy Ponzi moved from Los Gatos, in what would become the Silicon Valley, to Beaverton, bought a strawberry farm and planted 12 acres of wine grapes. Even though they had little to no experience in the wine industry, they dreamed of producing world class Pinot Noir.
You can hardly visit the Willamette Valley without visiting some of its famed wineries and that's exactly what I did. Starting at Montinore Estate, one of the state's largest biodynamic/organic wine producers, we visited the stunning tasting room and then stepped into the vineyards for a visit with winemakers Ben Thomas and Stephen Webber.
Sokol Blosser started in 1971. I had the pleasure of visiting the winery last night. "Pinot is our passion." Non vintage Elevation Red. Syrah based with 12 other varietals.
One taster who left their name off the sheet said 'It tastes like more, as in I definitely want more." They thought the nose was amazing and that it rivaled some well known Pinots from the Willamette Valley and the Santa Rita Hills. Tony said "yum yum yes!"
All of us looked forward to the next offering, the 2008 La Rochelle Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. Michael called this "a Pinot for Cab lovers and I like Cab." Amy loved the color, mouth feel and flavor. Ken commented on the garnet color and full nose of raspberries and dark cherries.
We stayed down under for the 2008 Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz from Barossa, Australia. "What a deal", said one of us. Most liked the nose, calling it smoky and earthy. Tony felt it got better as it sat in the glass. At $10 we all felt it was a terrific value.
