In the past quarter of the century, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, an Italian winery in the Tuscan coastal town of Bolgheri, has become, or has achieved you might say, first growth or cult wine status since its first vintage in 1985. This year Ornellaia has been celebrating its 25 anniversary, the 2010 vintage, with events, auctions and special art created, all paying homage to a wine that’s as distinct as the vineyards it is grown in. When most of us think of Tuscan wines, we think of Chianti and Chianti Classico, made from the Sangiovese grape. But nearly 50 years ago, some Italian winemakers and winery owners started thinking that there might be places in the country where the so called “international varieties” of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc might do well and even thrive. “It is a young region for wine,” says Riccardo Facco, Hospitality Director at…
Top Three Reasons To Visit The Willamette Valley Now
Wine country tourism is on the rise and one of the fastest growing destinations is Oregon’s Willamette Valley. I’ve visited the past two summers (July and August are relatively dry with pleasant if not hot weather) and after my last visit came away convinced that the Willamette Valley is a destination that should be on every wine lover’s list. Why? It’s not just the amazing Pinot Noir, the grape varietal the region is most famous for. There’s more and more to see, eat and drink than ever before, and it’s only going to get better. Wine giant Jackson Family Wines (aka Kendall Jackson) jsut bought a winery in the Willamette Valley, as did French wine house Louis Jadot, its first US acquisition. Here, my favorite experiences. Sokol Blosser’s new tasting room Talk about a destination winery, this is a building for art and architecture as well as wine fans alike.…
Indie Wineries: Discovering Artisanal Wines Around the World
Some call them garagistes, boutique producers, even rebels bucking the system. These are international winemakers crafting handmade wines on very small scale — sometimes just hundreds of cases, to just under 4500 cases, versus the millions of cases pumped out by the big industrial wineries of the world. They’re producing beautiful, lovely, interesting bottles. Most of these wines would never even make it out of the home country, let alone the local region. They’re the wines you might discover on travels in Italy or France, wines the locals drink. Otherwise, you’d never know they existed. Until now. Indie Wineries is an up an coming wine importer, bringing unique, artisanal wines to the United States market. You know how you go to a party or event and your wine loving friend pulls you aside and says, hey I’ve got this special bottle stashed away I want you to try? …
The Coolest Wine Gadget EVER
I have just seen the coolest thing in the wine world. It’s a game changer. I have to tell you I’ve seen the future of wine. The Coravin “wine access” system is going to change how wine is served and consumed in restaurants, wine tasting rooms and at home. Wine’s biggest enemy is oxygen. Once you open a bottle, air gets into the bottle and starts to oxidize it, no matter how much air you try to pump out or displace by squirting inert gas into the bottle then stoppering it. After day two, most wines loose their freshness, and by day three or four forget it. This is a major issue for restaurants and wine bars serving by the glass, and it impacts you, the wine drinker. When was the bottle opened? Hopefully within the past hour, not a day or two ago. How long do most restaurants and…
Dress to the Vines!
It’s a weekend of wine country fashion! Join me at Jessup Cellars in the heart of Napa Valley for Dress to the Vines, a four-day celebration of fashion, wine and perfume. I’ll be doing perfume pairings with Jessup wines and Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances. We’ll dish on the latest wine country style and talk about how Napa Valley influences fashion with industry insiders, magazine editors and stylists. If you are a wine fashionista like me, you won’t want to miss this ground-breaking event that puts style on par with wine, food and art in wine country. On Thursday night, August 15, I’ll be part of a panel talking all things fashion and wine country. To kick off the event, I’m pairing three Jessup Cellars wines with perfumes from wine country based Sonoma Scent Studio that will highlight different aromatic notes in the wines. While wine and perfume together are usually…
Chardonnay in Balance
Chardonnay has been one of the hallmark wines made in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the 1990’s and early aughts, while other California wineries were pushing the envelope on overblown buttery and oaky styles, Santa Cruz Mountain Chards, especially those of Mount Eden Vineyards and winemaker Jeffrey Patterson, were a beacon of hope for those of us who prefer a more restrained, more balanced glass of wine. Now that the pendulum seems to be swinging towards unoaked, crisp and elegant wines, more Burgundian than Californian in style, these Chardonnays are more fashionable than ever. I’ve never been a Chardonnay fan – until now. I’ve been exploring Santa Cruz Mountains wineries over the past six months or so — getting updated on what’s new and exciting. In the process I’ve discovered some Chardonnays that turned my tastebuds. And while I usually don’t buy Chardonnay, I’ve been spending perhaps a little too…
Wine Country Chic, Napa Valley Style
When the invitation says “wine country casual,” what does that mean? That’s what attendees of this year’s Auction Napa Valley, on the first weekend of June, had to think about when deciding what to wear. The four day long event includes dinners at wineries, a food and wine festival with a barrel auction, and the live wine auction. Thursday night dinners at wineries are perhaps the most casual of the events, a low key way to ease into the weekend. At St. Supéry Vineyards, Kara Butler wore a Tilly’s denim jacket, Express white dress and Ariat boots. “These are the same cowboy boots that I where when I go through the vines so I thought what’s better than that?” Pam Prahm chose an Anthropoligie top, thinking about dining in the vineyard. “Just something casual and fun.” At Friday’s barrel auction, held at Raymond Vineyards, stripes and long dresses trended for…
Detox Then Retox in Wine Country
Photo credit: Aubrie Pick The first time I heard of a winery offering a yoga class was in 2008, at Periscope Cellars in Emeryville, CA. This was actually a yoga class where you sipped wine as you held various poses. We shot a session for an episode of In Wine Country and I love the shot at the end of the woman holding the wine glass with her foot. Since then it seems that no matter where you are in American wine country you’re not far from a yoga class at a winery. You can do your best downward dog at wineries in Temecula, CA, in the Lehigh Valley, PA wine country or along the Loudoun Wine Trail in Virginia. The trend has also taken off in Canada, especially in the Niagara grape growing region where there’s a Yoga in the Vineyard Facebook page with 239 “likes.” In addition to yoga, you…
New Kids On The Wine Block
The Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticulture Area (AVA), in northern California, running along the Pacific coast south of San Francisco to Santa Cruz, is one of the most diverse wine growing regions in the world. This wine country is also one of the oldest in California, dating back to the mid 1880’s when pioneers like Paul Masson were growing grapes and making wine here. There are nearly 70 wineries that call the Santa Cruz Mountains home, and a few new kids on the block are noteworthy newcomers. Silvertip Vineyards Silvertip Vineyards is what you would call a destination winery — but not because you’ll find a fancy chateau or Michelin-starred dining there. You have to work to find this Santa Cruz Mountains winery, tucked away among the redwoods, only a few miles as the crow files from Silicon Valley, but a world away in this forested setting. You do…
Drinking Wine For A Good Cause
Every year there are countless wine launches, and so many get lost in the shuffle. I can’t tell you how many press releases fill my inbox or Twitter feed announcing the latest and greatest wine to come on the market. But these three wines are giving back to the community and in light of that, certainly worth seeking out. Alder Fels National Parks Foundation Wine Collection In these days of budgetary cutbacks and the sequester, it’s nice to see something done to help promote our national parks. With summer just around the corner and peak travel time to parks such as Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone about to begin, the timing is right for wines created to give back to the National Park Foundation, the charity arm of America’s nearly 400 national parks. Alder Fels Winery, in California’s Sonoma Valley, partnered with the Foundation to develop the National…