Wine

5 Signs You’re Not a Wine Snob

Wine snobs are annoying. Blame them for making wine fraught with pretense and intimidation. From a sommelier at a restaurant dissing your choice of the least expensive bottle on the list, to the friend who announces “darhling this is a $150 Cabernet,” they are the ones who make wine scary to those of us who just want to enjoy it.

Knowing a lot about wine doesn’t mean you’re a wine snob. But just in case you suspect you’re crossing the line from wine lover to wine snob, doing any of these five things will ensure that you’ll never be labeled a snob.
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Red, White and Wine: What to Drink on July 4th

Happy Birthday America. We raise a glass and toast our collective history and accomplishments. What’s in that glass? For me and fellow wine lovers it sure won’t be beer. July 4th is a time toy celebrate our great country and wines made on American soil.
From burgers to fried chicken and apple pie, we’ll be feasting on a typical American menu. The wine should also be as American as the food. Read more

The Warden of Big House Wines

With names like Big House Red, Unchained Naked Chardonnay, The Usual Suspect Cabernet, it may come as a surprise that the winemaker behind this label wears bright red lipstick and approaches winemaking like perfume. That certainly got my attention, especially the perfume part. Meet Georgetta Dane. Her Big House winery is in Soledad, CA, where there is a state correctional facility, aka the big house. “And I am the warden at the winery,” Georgetta says. Her perfume inspired winemaking also makes her a wine fashionista in my book.
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5 Gifts for Your Wine Loving Dad


Father’s Day is almost here. If you’re like me you’ve procrastinated, mainly because Dads can be hard to buy for. But if your father loves wine, here are five gift ideas he’s sure to enjoy.

Wine Aerator – Does Dad like red wine? There are many aerator devices on the market now. They quickly get more air into the wine to help soften tannins or bring out more of the aromas and flavors. Read more

The Six Aromas You Don’t Want to Smell in Your Wine

When you stick your nose in a glass of wine, what do you smell? Most of the time, the aroma will be fruity, floral or spicy. The wine may even be earthy or smell of smoked meats (as in a Northern Rhone Syrah), or buttery and tropical. All pleasant scents. But what if you smell rotten eggs, wet newspaper or a barnyard? More than likely that wine is flawed. And that’s a wine you don’t want to keep in your glass. If you’re at home, dump it down the drain; at a bar or restaurant, send it back (more on this later).

One of wine’s dirty little secrets is that there are bottles on the market that contained flawed, faulty juice. Read more

Memorial Day Weekend Wine – It’s in the Bag

Wine in a bag? Surely you’ve seen wine in a box. You probably equate that with plonk. But times are changing when it comes to wine in a bag, box or vessel other than glass. With Memorial Day weekend ushering in a season of outdoor BBQ and picnics, why not try one of these modern alternatives to the traditional glass wine bottle.

Recently, a package landed on my doorstep containing samples, two bags of wines. They look like the bags used for IV drips in the hospital. You know how people say, hook me up to an IV of wine? Read more

Seeing the World Through Rose´Colored Wine Glasses

Pink wine is finally getting the respect it deserves. It can be as sophisticated as any red or white wine. I’ve been a huge fan for years. While Rose´is the perfect wine for warm and hot weather, I like to drink it year round. Lately, I’ve noticed a lot more people drink it year round too. You can find at least one Rose´option on wine lists, and grocery stores have a few more bottles of pink wine on the shelves. Read more

It’s Wine Time

As we head into summer, it’s time for lots of great events happening all over wine country.  Here’s a brief listing of what’s going on.

I love the Santa Cruz Mountains wine country, which is between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.  It’s a beautiful and diverse region, with small wineries producing really great wine.  You can try many of the region’s wines at two upcoming events. Read more

Instead of Cognac, Perfume

I came from a family of tuberose wearers, my mother wore tuberose, my grandmother wore tuberose, so I always knew I would make a tuberose perfume.

Kilian Hennessy is a modern perfumer. Memories of tuberose, an intensely fragrant white flower, aside, what’s striking is that Kilian’s family is the Hennessy family, as in Hennessy Cognac. Hennessy is known for a premium label Cognac. Not so much known for a tuberose fragrance. But Kilian Hennessy is hoping to make his perfume line, By Kilian, as well-known as his family’s Cognac label.Read more

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