by Joseph Stephens
Fine wine often brings to mind images of French rolling hills and elegant dinners; however, Italy's twenty regions bring to the pallet an array of fine wines for your dining pleasure.Italian wine making enjoys tradition rich in both modern and rustic methods, although much of the country's wineries now employ scientific and technological tools to create quality wines. The country's wines are made primarily from two types of grapes, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. The Nebbiolo grapes are used in the northwester part of the country, creating the red wines Barolo and Barbaresco. The Sangiovese grapes create one of the better-known Italian wines, Chianti, and are native to the central Tuscany and Umbria regions. Italy's wines are divided into four categories based on origin, quality, and purity. When...
by Mark Aselstine
California is known for creating rock stars out of our winemakers. It’s a strange phenomenon to much of the rest of the world, but many wine drinkers can name off a single winemaker’s multiple projects without much thought-as opposed to a vineyard specific mindset that is seen elsewhere. Anyway, that winemaker centric mindset made me ask myself: who is in the next wave of great winemakers?Anthony Yount: Anthony does his day work at Denner Vineyards in Paso Robles. Denner is known for their Syrah program as well as their location. Their estate vineyard is located an entire golf cart path away from the famed James Berry Vineyard next door. Anthony also has a white wine label of his own named Kinero which was founded when he took over Denner’s wine production and they didn’t have...
by Richard Mark James
Jean-Louis Denois, Saint Paul de FenouilletThere's a lot of talk about "low or no sulphite" wines, and enough examples out there to remind us why most winemakers DON'T go down this more challenging route (sulphur dioxide and related additives are basically used as anti-bacterial agent, anti-oxidant and preservative). Jean-Louis Denois, perhaps better known for his pioneering still, and sparkling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines from Limoux to the north over the 'border' in the Languedoc (as well as experimental plantings of Riesling and Gewurztraminer in the late 90s, deemed 'illegal' at the time by narrow-minded bureaucrats), takes a pretty rational scientific view of this approach while claiming "there's just no alternative." In 2006, he bought a couple of vineyard plots lost between Sai...
by Richard Mark James
New Zealand winemakers are well known for their lively expressive Sauvignon Blanc wines and Chardonnays too made in different styles (fresh & fruity, rich and toasty, somewhere in between...). So it makes sense that other 'aromatic' white varieties are coming to the fore in cool climate New Zealand wine country including Riesling, Pinot Gris (Grigio) and Gewurztraminer. Let's not get too excited though: they're still small fry in the vineyard scheme of things, as these three grapes combined amount to about the same area of Chardonnay overall - a bit over 3000 hectares - and are dwarfed by 20,000 ha of ubiquitous Sauvignon blanc. Maybe this is why the wines are quite expensive - you'll struggle to find one under £10 in the UK and €12 in Ireland - but the best are definitely worth a go (t...
by John Cesano
When you have to eat your words, use a Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel to wash them down.Recently, I wrote that while the Passport to Dry Creek Valley is the big daddy of wine events, Hopland Passport is the better value.I’m a little jaded, I work for what I think is the best tasting room in Hopland; the wines we pour and the food we serve with them are unmatched in quality, so I allowed my pride for what we do half an hour north of Healdsburg with our wine and food at our event to color my writing.I write about wine while running a tasting room; and in the past I used to sit on the board of, and then did marketing for, Destination Hopland – the folks who put on Hopland Passport. Perhaps, I was a touch biased in my piece for the local paper.I received a media invite to Passport to Dry Creek...
by John Cesano
One of the biggest differences between winemaking in Europe and the United States is that wine made in Europe is made following a protocol established by and for the geographically identifiable area the wine is made in, while wine made in the United States is made with near complete freedom.A Mendocino County wine might be Chardonnay or Malbec. Napa Valley is likely to contain Cabernet Sauvignon, but could instead contain Sangiovese. Russian River Valley wine bottles could be Pinot Noir or Semillion. In the United States, we have to label our wines with the grape varietal, because there is no rule, rhyme, or reason about what each area can put into the bottle.When you buy a bottle of Bordeaux at the wine shop, you know which grapes the wine can be made from based on long established histor...
by John Cesano
A few months ago when launching this column, I said I would try to limit my use of the words love and adore, because with the way I feel about the area’s wines and people I could easily overuse both.Well, I have been sparing enough that I hope you’ll forgive me now. I absolutely adore Deanna Starr.Deanna and her husband Ted own Milano Family Winery at the south end of Highway 101 in the big old hop kiln. Deanna is also the winemaker at Milano.I worked with Deanna when we were on the board of Destination Hopland together. Deanna is intelligent, funny, patient, thoughtful, and a joy to work with. Deanna is also a gracious hostess; last year, I attended a group meal Deanna hosted at Milano for tasting room folks from a number of local wineries in the middle of Hopland Passport after the f...
by John Cesano
I have visited Campovida, just about a mile east of Highway 101 on Old River Road in Hopland, often since Gary Breen and Anna Beuselinck opened their gates for the spring 2010 Hopland Passport, after the former Fetzer Valley Oaks property had been chained and neglected for the previous five years.Originally, Gary and Anna allowed four labels under one larger umbrella wine brand, Magnanimus, to be poured at Campovida. Some of the wines were quite good while others were just okay, but the draw for me was never the wines but the property itself.That said, Cesar Toxqui made a delicious gold medal winning Viognier for Gary and Anna’s new Campovida labeled wines.The biggest news on the Campovida wine front is that Gary and Anna have hired Sebastian Donoso from his assistant winemaker position ...
by Rachel Shoniker
“If there is wine along the way, then I’ll get on a bike,” my 64-year old father candidly blurts out as we’re picking up our rental bikes at HeatStroke Cycle in Osoyoos, BC. The nervous excitement in the bike store is palpable. Nobody in our group, which consists of my white-haired parents, my burly husband and our chubby-cheeked two-year old daughter, has ridden a bike in several decades. The last time I rode a bike was in the second grade when I proudly owned a purple bicycle with a glittery banana seat.We are about to embark on a wine-infused, secular pilgrimage to the Black Sage Bench between Osoyoos and Oliver. While these revered wineries aren’t categorized as holy places of worship, they do attract a loyal following of devotees.For my dad, this excursion is all about the w...
by Joseph Stephens
You are probably familiar with the traditional fruit baskets and flower settings used as business gifts in today's modern corporate world. But a new trend is developing in corporate gift giving that adds a whole new dimension to business relationships the business wine gift.As it is customary for business associates to exchange gifts on occasion, an alcoholic gift has been frowned upon in the American business scene. But as business relationships become closer and on a more personal level, a wine gift is becoming much more acceptable.Is a Corporate Wine Gift Appropriate?Because of business teachings in America, the mixing of work and alcohol has never really been accepted as an appropriate practice. Of course, the endorsement of intoxicated employees at any corporate level is never a goo...
