The 21st annual Zinfandel Festival in San Francisco this week, sponsored by the Association of Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP), highlights why California’s signature grape is worth preserving.  Zinfandel is not just the charmingly fruity wine that we all love, it is a chameleon of a grape that expresses its diverse origins and reveals true complexity and signature spiciness with age.  ZAP works to preserve this diversity by sponsoring a long-term zinfandel research program – conducted by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) – whose aim is to find …

Zinfandel has been grown in California since the 1850’s and, unlike many of the early-planted varietals, zinfandel has maintained its popularity to this day, representing the 2nd most widely planted red wine grape in the state.  We love youthful zinfandel for its fruity charm, but it’s the old vine zinfandels that we treasure for their intensity of flavor, structure, spiciness and most of all, expression of terroir.
To record and preserve the diversity of zinfandel expression, the University of California, Davis – with major support from the Association of Zinfandel Advocates …

Irreverent, irrepressible and incorrigable – that about sums up John Caldwell and Napa Valley wouldn’t be the same without him.  No other person outside of Napa City founder and Coombsville namesake Nathan Coombs is more closely associated with the Coombsville wine region than Caldwell, and it started really as opportunism to develop land as tony real estate in the emergent Napa Valley tourism destination in the late 1970′s.  He was flying high then with his successful shoe stores in the valley, he says, touring around in his Cadillac Seville ragtop …

The Coombsville AVA became official on December 14, 2011 but the region was always an integral part of high quality Napa Valley wines since the  1870′s and, more recently, has been high on the radar of insiders.  Considering its long history, volcanic effluvial soils and ideal climate, the granting of the formal AVA is a mere formality.
Coombsville’s low profile may have been a result of its location – about 1,360 farmed acres just east of the large city of Napa, obscured by a hill of residential homes which gives way …

Virginia’s state motto is “Virginia is for lovers” but it could also be said of dreamers because wine lovers have been trying to grow grapevines here since the founding of the country with varying levels of success due to poor climate, choice of grape variety, even pests.  The French planted the domestic Scuppernog grape but didn’t like the taste while the Italians experimented with European vitis vinifera which didn’t adapt well to the climate.  Thomas Jefferson tried – and failed – seven times to cultivate vitis vinifera at his estate …

If you decide to visit the two Mendocinos, here are my suggestions for getting and staying there, dining and tasting.
Anderson Valley
Anderson Valley is about 2 1/2 hours from San Francisco via Highway 101 north to Highway 128 which meanders northwest along the Navarro River through spectacular redwoods to the coast.  The 27 wineries are easy to visit being concentrated on either side of the highway from Booneville to Navarro.  The list of wineries and map are located on the Anderson Valley Winegrower’s website at www.avwines.com
A good time to visit Anderson …

A wine lover’s tour of Mendocino wine region is usually comprised of a quick drive through the Anderson Valley on the way to the coastal town of Mendocino.  But that would just be skimming the surface of the diversity of Mendocino wines from the cool climate aromatic whites and pinot noir of Anderson Valley to the full-bodied cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and Cal-Itals from warm Inland Mendocino, connected by a mere 17 easy and beautiful drive over the mountain on Highway 253.  From the charming and gentrifying Anderson Valley to the …

In challenging economic times and a competitive global wine market, Navarro Vineyards prevails by staying true to a particular style of wine and cultivating consumers one by one.
Ted Bennett, his wife Deborah Cahn and their children Sarah and Aaron Cahn Bennett are proprietors of Navarro Vineyards, one of the first wineries in what is now the Anderson Valley wine region in Mendocino County.  From their first vintage in 1975, they have made dry aromatic white wines such as gewürztraminer, pinot gris and riesling which are today among the fastest growing …

Imagine an exciting Los Angeles town that by the 1920′s, was home to three major motion picture studios, famous screen actors and musicians and a thriving nightclub scene.  It’s not the Hollywood most people think about, but West LA’s Culver City is where it all began.  It’s a pocket town sometimes overwhelmed by LA’s other neighborhoods – flashy Marina del Rey, tony Brentwood, funky Venice and chic West Hollywood.  But Culver City has a self-confidence all its own born in a rich and authentic Hollywood past.
If you want a taste …

New York City at this time of year is resplendent with holiday lights, Christmas trees and festive window displays.  Just walking  down Fifth Avenue in the crisp December air fills me with holiday cheer – and an appetite.  There is no lack of great Michelin star restaurants here, but during the holidays when you’re out-and-about, it’s easy to be drawn into the convivial and cozy atmosphere of the neighborhood cafe or bar.  Here are some ideas for your next trip to Manhattan!
Tribeca

Terroir Tribeca is the larger of the wine bars …