King Estate, known nationally for its signature white pinot gris wines, is located in Eugene Oregon, a region known for its environmentally green culture, outdoor lifestyle and world-class food and wine, making the area a great weekend destination. 
According the latest National Geographic ”Green Guide“ and Entrepreneur magazine, Eugene is the greenest city in the U.S. based on factors such as environmental policy, energy use, air and water quality, green design and recycling.  By comparison, The Green Guide ranked Santa Rosa #5, Oakland #6, Berkeley #7 and San Francisco #18.  Eugene is a sophisticated university town with …

Knowing where your food comes from has become a familiar directive to anyone paying even the slightest attention to health and lifestyle news.  At the Culinary Round Table dinners at Robert Sinskey Vineyards in the Napa Valley, knowing from whom your food comes allows consumers to explore more intimately why organically grown and locally sourced foods makes sense.  At the latest Culinary Round Table dinner, Deborah and Jim Durst shared their passion for organic produce, opening up a dialogue among the small group of diverse guests and providing inspiration to all.  The relaxing ambiance in the trellised courtyard of Robert Sinskey Vineyards overlooking Stags’ Leap, over …

Authentic Madeira from Portugal is one of the great fortified sweet wines in the world.  Madeira’s unique character has its origins as a wine made to travel, given the island’s location in the path of trans-Atlantic trade between the Americas, Europe and the Indies beginning in the 15th century.  It was the long sea voyage that necessitated the fortification of the still wines with brandy or rum to keep the wines in good condition.  During the 17th century when the Indies was Madeira’s major market, Portuguese producers discovered the exquisite evolution of wines stored in the hot holds of …

One of the producers that impressed me at a recent Madeira tasting in San Francisco was Vinhos Barbeito.  Achieving quality in fortified sweet wines is not so easy.  If one doesn’t have fine balance of the alcohol, acidity and sweetness, the wine will taste “hot”, cloying or flabby.  The Barbeito wines were none of these.  I spoke with family member and winemaker Ricardo Freitas on their philosophy on quality and how they achieve it.  By European standards, Barbeito is relatively young, established only in 1946 by Ricardo’s grandfather Mario Barbeito de Vasconcelos who began by making …

How does one pair Madeira with savory foods?  It is a sweet fortified wine that doesn’t appear on the face of it to go well with foods.   What does make it suitable for food is the characteristic high acidity that other fortified wines like Sherry – with its low to moderate acidity - and even Port with its balanced acidity, do not have.  Also, while even “dry” Madeira has some residual sugar, they always finish dry.  Another factor that ties Madeira to a range of interesting cuisines is the range of complex flavors.  While …

Bouchaine Vineyards is the southernmost winery in the Napa Valley, and the oldest continuously operating winery in the district of Carneros beginning with Johnny Garetto who established a commercial winery here in 1929.  But grapevines were planted at this location long before then by a pioneer going by the colorful name of Boon Fly.  He was a major landholder and farmer from the 1850′s who eventually converted his orchards to vineyards.  His name is immortalized on local landmarks such as Fly Bay and Boon Fly’s Hill, not to mention the Boon Fly Cafe at Carneros Inn.   …

Winemaker Emilio Rodriguez of Terras Gauda in Rias Baixas

High expression, or “alta expresion” is a termed used in Rioja for new wave red Rioja, but in the northwest of Spain, winemaker Emilio Rodriguez of Bodegas Terras Gauda seeks ultimate expression of the heirloom whites of Rias Baixas and reds of Bierzo. Combine his wines with the tapas of Gerald Hirigoyen’s Bocadillos Restaurant, and one experiences the authentic flavors of Spain the way they are meant to be.
Rias Baixas is the only exclusively white wine appellation in Spain located in the northwest region …

There are scores of white varietals from around the world for Americans to discover, but in a restaurant or for a crowd, sauvignon blanc is usually the go-to wine that seems to please everyone.  It is a classic grape variety that has distinct characteristics such as citrus flavors and crisp acidity, but each wine’s personality will be influenced by regional climate, winemaking technique or blending (such as with semillon in Bordeaux). 
This week I’ve been tasting Chilean sauvignon blancs in the $10-13 range that are fresh and fruity wines ideal for everyday enjoyment.  In Chile, the most notable …

At this point, everyone seems to know about the high quality and value proposition of Argentine wines.  Exports of bottled Argentine wines increased 10% by value and 8% by volume from 2008 to 2009, with exports to the US growing 30% and 32%  respectively.  Stats for the first four months of 2010 show no abatement.  This is no small feat given that exports of wine from most major wine regions declined by value during this economically-challenging time.  The US is by far Argentina’s largest export market with a  39% market share by value at …

The Leyda Valley in Chile is less than ten miles from the icy Pacific ocean and a little over 25 miles south of Casablanca, well known for its cool climate grapes.   It’s no surprise that cool climate pinot noir can do well in this relatively young appellation of Leyda Valley, and in fact its one of the three regions  - along with Casablanca to the north and Bio Bio to the deep south – that are increasingly known for their pinot noir wines.
The winery credited for securing the denominacion de origen (official …