At a wine tasting event…
…not all who attend are wine nerds. From my own observations, people attend wine tasting events for one of the following reasons: to network (rubbing shoulders with people, and giving out business cards) to be seen (and hopefully photographed!) and heard to drink free wine (or at least drinking wines at reduced costs) to actually want […]
Napa 2014 – Shaken and baked
Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, and as if it wasn’t bad enough with one calamity in a year, Napa just had its third run-in with mother nature. My visit to the Californian north coast two weeks ago couldn’t have been at a better timing. I arrived weeks after an earthquake and departed days […]
California wines – Going beyond familiarity
I know the day will come when an elderly looking man presents his range of everyday drinking wines made from a lesser-known region. Bottles of delicious California’s Central Valley wines, a sincere smile. And after several glasses, I am a happy man.
Frank Family Vineyards – With a personality
One of the toughest pretence in life is to love without feeling, to share without giving and to speak without thinking. Well, perhaps not so difficult for the last one. Sales people often speak great things about wines without sharing the essence and spirit that it embodies. The words spoken often were like post-dinner bottles, […]
Argentina, not just Malbec
Think Argentina and think Malbec. That was the tagline commonly used to get people acquainted with Argentinian wines. While the French originated thick skin inky black grape remains popular for making wines in this South America country, others are blending Malbec with European varieties to create a fresh expression. An expression that potentially might change […]
Half way round the globe – American wines
In an earlier post on my trip to Napa Valley, I wrote “If you ask almost anyone to name a source region for America’s wines, there is a 90 per cent chance someone will quickly respond with Napa Valley.” Similarly, if you asked for the red wine of America there’s an equally high chance of hearing […]
Napa Valley – Trinchero Cloud’s Nest vineyard
If you ask almost anyone to name a source region for America’s wines, there is a 90 per cent chance someone will quickly respond with Napa Valley. Napa Valley is a narrow valley to the north of San Francisco, flanked by two mountain ranges, Mayacamas and Vacas. This is home to the wines that propelled […]