Wine & Chocolate
Wine and chocolate pairing has become popular – especially for Valentine’s Day. Many wineries will serve truffles from local chocolatiers that seem to match up perfectly with their port or late-harvest zinfandel or merlot. Restaurants and wine bars across the country have begun special wine and chocolate tastings. You don’t have to spend [...]
2007 Wine
One of the best vintage years for wine – worldwide, was 2007. These wines are now coming to market and with wine prices dropping, there are bargains to be had!
California reds have been slow to come down, but winemakers will have to start discounting in order to reduce inventory. Buyers that once spent $20 [...]
Four Vines Wines
Paso Robles winemaker Christian Tietje is a hedonist. He is passionate about wine: making it, drinking it and bringing people together to enjoy it.
A former chef, Chris fell head over heels for old vine Zinfandel, and founded Four Vines in 1990 with a plan to make four “killer zins” from the four top [...]
Second Labels from a Premium Winemaker
Ever since Obama served Duckhorn Vineyard’s Goldeneye Pinot Noir at his inauguration lunch, enthusiasm for the wine has skyrocketed. Fortunately for those of us who don’t want to spend $50 for a Pinot, the winery also offers a second label called Migration – Anderson Valley Pinot Noir – a stellar [...]
Layer Cake Primitivo, aka Zinfandel 2007
If you like Zin, you’ll like this wine. An old world wine from Italy with the surprising forward fruit flavors of the new world. Dark purple color with ripe berry, spice and licorice nose. Medium bodied with flavors of plum, dark cherry, and hints of leather and nutmeg. Balanced with [...]
Fritz Winery 2005 Zinfandel, Estate, Dry Creek Valley
The Dry Creek area of Sonoma produces some of the best California Zins you can find. Because the weather is more temperate, you don’t get the fruit bombs like the warmer climates of Paso Robles and Lodi produce.
The Fritz Zinfandel has bright color with aromas of raspberry, [...]
Time to Plant
We had an early bud break this year – the first week in March. Southern California had a wonderful warm spell in January that got the grape vines and roses to begin putting on leaves. Even though the night time temperatures have been in the low 40’s, we should be past any possibility [...]
