While one can get chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and riesling wines from most wine regions around the world these days, there are only a handful of regions that specialize in the classic varietals of pinot blanc, pinot grigio, gewurztraminer and muscat.  One of the regions is Alsace and then neighboring Pfalz Germany which share the same mountain range the Vosges to the Haardt.  A classic area and in fact the home to the gewurztraminer grape is the Alto Adige, the northernmost vineyards in Italy with the highest percentage of controlled quality (DOC) wines.   …

This new series of guides to the world’s finest wines and producers is presented by the editorial team at The World of Fine Wine,  one of the most authoratative periodicals in wine today.  They are only ‘field guides’ in that they are concise and portable, but they are very weighty in content.  Two of the guides recently published by UC Berkeley Press are The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy by Nicolas Belfrage, MW and The Finest Wines of Champagne by Michael Edwards.  The Finest Wines of Bordeaux written by James Lawther, MW is currently expected …

After 20 years of working as consulting winemaker for several Napa Valley wineries, Celia Welch decided to make her own wines beginning with the 2004 vintage. She took on the name of Corra, the celtic goddess of prophecy, because for the first time, she would be able to communicate directly to her consumers about her wines. The goddess Corra took the form of a crane, representing Celia’s slow but certain and graceful path to the present. Celia herself is a goddess of sorts, having either consulted or made wine for over …

Given that Yountville has some of the greatest restaurants in the country, it was fitting when the Kelleher family sought a new chef for Brix Restaurant in late 2008 that it select an iconic chef like Anne Gingrass-Paik.  Having begun her career with Wolfgang Puck at Spago in LA in the 1980’s and then as executive chef at Postrio and Hawthorne Lane in SF, Chef Gingrass-Paik has perfected the art of California Cuisine which focuses on the use of fresh, local ingredients and infusing them with international flavors. From bold and …

Iconic Bordeaux consultant and winemaker Stephane Derenoncourt introduced his small, 1,500 case production Napa Valley wines to an intimate group of wine professionals at Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford today.  The wines represent the 2006 vintages of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, and 575 cases of Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon from Red Hills Vineyard.  The consumer allocations of the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc have been pre-sold, with the 2007 vintages expected to be released sometime between September and November. 
These are not Bordeaux-style wines but …