[4 Mar 2010 | No Comment | ]
Discovering the classic Italian whites of the Alto Adige

 
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.   …

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Atlas Peak, Featured, Napa Valley, Wines »

[14 Mar 2010 | No Comment | ]
Inaugural Dos Lagos Vineyards Atlas Peak cabernet sauvignon is Bob Foley’s latest project

Dos Lagos Vineyards owners Tom and Marcie Dinkel

Dos Lagos Vineyards is the latest of several notable mountain cabernet sauvignon wines Foley has been making for over 25 years including Pride Mountain and Paloma from Spring Mountain and his own label Robert Foley Vineyards from Howell Mountain.  Foley has been farming on the “eastern ridge” for over twenty years and made his name as winemaker at Pride on the “western ridge” for 15 (as well as owning blocks on Mount Veeder and Diamond Mountain) so he understands the potential power and density of cabs …

Alto Adige, Headline, Italy »

[4 Mar 2010 | No Comment | ]
Discovering the classic Italian whites of the Alto Adige

 
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.   …

Wine Regions, Wines »

[28 Feb 2010 | No Comment | ]
The best ‘field guides’ to the fine wine regions of Champagne, Bordeaux and Tuscany

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 …

Featured, Napa Valley, Wines »

[26 Feb 2010 | One Comment | ]
Celia Welch’s new release 2007 Corra cabernet sauvignon – a classic Napa Valley wine

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 …

Food, Napa Valley, Yountville »

[13 Feb 2010 | No Comment | ]
Chef profiles – Anne Gingrass-Paik of Brix Restaurant in Yountville

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 …