The last thing I expected to hear at a posh luncheon showcasing the record-breaking Auction Napa Valley Cabernet, the 2016 Fourmeaux, presented by the distinguished Jean-Noel Formeaux of a centuries-old Bordeaux family, was that the VGS of VGS Chateau Potelle, stands for “Very Good S**t”. Seriously.
in the latest April issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine, somms report a “modest uptick” in Merlot, the first since 1997. They cite Dan Davis of Commander’s Palace who said “the merlot comeback is coming. Now they just need to make a movie about it.”
During Premier Napa Valley, the trade have an opportunity to blind taste through three different vintages of 15 Napa Valley producers’ Cabernet Sauvignon wines. My original interest in attending this tasting in the past was to see if there was discernible vintage character, but now I also seek out brand styles, consistency and quality as they leap out of the glass vintage after vintage, and back-to-back.
The 2016 Napa Harvest is underway. At home, I hand-harvested my own single-vineyard, dry-farmed Zinfandel grapes last week and wanted to make a jelly with a little more distinction and less sugar than most. So I thought like a winemaker. I fermented them.
While El Nino generally turned out to be a bust, it seems to have given the vines just the oomph it needed, along with good weather during bloom. This led to more even fruit set and uniform ripening
Robert Mondavi left a great legacy to the Napa Valley but one of his most enduring gifts may be the core values he drove into his own team of successors, each of whom have also changed the world of wine in their own way
Rombauer Vineyards still makes those rich, full-bodied and buttery Chardonnays that many people love but at a tasting yesterday, I found that they do so much more. If you haven’t visited them lately, it’s time to revisit and discover their wines all over again.
Far Niente literally means ‘without a care’ and guests immediately feel that ambiance when visiting the Oakville estate because of its spell-binding …
For Mumm, an early and light crop, but one with low yields and clean, healthy grapes portends a vintage with a divine purity of fruit
Mike Grgich is renowned for having crafted the Judgment of Paris Chardonnay but what sets apart award-winning wines from truly great wines? The ability to age. I recently attended a vertical of Grgich Chardonnay from the 1970s to today, and this is what I found.
Whenever I think of HALL Wines, I think happy. One can never drive past the leaping 35-foot Bunny Foo Foo without …
Singapore may have its hawker fare, LA its food trucks but here in Downtown Napa, we have our own little “pod” of street food, wine country style! These humble eateries have a strong POV with food that is quick, inexpensive and always packed with flavor.
Drought in California is inevitable but at Napa Valley Grapegrower’s inaugural Rootstock Symposium, winegrowers weighed in on conserving water without sacrificing quality.
At the West Sonoma Coast Wine Festival this past weekend, top SF chefs from State Bird Provisions, Rich Table and Bar Tartine shared their collective thoughts on what makes the SF food scene so special: the sense of community, casual formats and inventive flavors and combinations that make us change the way we think about food and wine.
For many Rutherford vintners, the cool 2011 vintage marked by an unusually rainy October was something they’d never seen in their careers. It was a year that vintners became winegrowers in the true sense, making key decisions in the vineyards, at harvest and in the cellar that would ultimately highlight the best aspects of the cool vintage: purity and freshness.
