New Ultra-Premium Pinot Noir Experience Comes to Sonoma
Pinot-lovers are pouring into Sonoma for a new tasting experience.
Tag: pinot noir
Five Red Wines to Enjoy at a Backyard Barbecue
These reds know how to celebrate smoky meat on the grill, and they draw a crowd.
Sipping Sonoma Wine in Springtime
So many social gatherings in May and June, so many wines to choose from!
LikeWine: Sonoma Wines for Springtime
Springtime is swing season, when white and rosé wines become more tempting, particularly for brunch-time meals and Easter. The additional sunlight of daylight saving time encourages the firing up of grills — a siren call for Zinfandel. Sauvignon Blanc For Easter If you like: Quivira Vineyards 2014 Refuge Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($28) A […]
Wine Pairings for Everything from Oysters to Valentine’s Day
From oysters to Valentines, we've found some great Sonoma County wines that pair perfectly with your winter plans.
Cheaper Options for Sonoma County Wines
The holiday season is here and it’s time to bring out the big guns, to splurge on worthy bottles for both gifting and to help soothe us on the chilly nights of approaching winter, with hearty fare on the table. With football on the tube, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and more to celebrate, this is no […]
Top 100 Wines: Pinot Noir
Arista Winery 2013 Toboni Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $45 From a 15-acre vineyard off Olivet Lane, this vineyard-designate shows off the talents of new winemaker Matthew Courtney and the longtime farming prowess of Mary and Joe Toboni, offering tight acidity and fine-grained tannins around a core of succulently exotic dark cherry, raspberry and […]
2 Guys, 1 Pool Table, & Some Barrels
As a rule, I wince when I hear the words artisanal and Pinot Noir in the same sentence, conjuring as they do the pretension of restaurants that proclaim “house-made” and people who’ve watched the movie Sideways more than once. But exceptions prove rules, and every so often I’m lucky enough to be reminded of the […]
Get her tipsy, feed her chocolate.
I don't know about you, but I'm not above whetting my wife's more carnal appetites with enough wine and chocolate to impair her better judgment. I'm sure that's all very un-PC and certainly, as the father of young daughters, I live in mortal fear of the effects of alcohol on sensibility; but my wife's a big girl, and above all, she knows how I think, so I'm pretty sure our pending Valentine's Date - a savory symphony of handcrafted chocolate and wine at J Winery - will be consensual.
Lobster Bisque & Viognier @ J Winery: Two of a Perfect Pair
Forgive the hackneyed analog, but I've just eaten a Lennon-McCartney harmony of food and wine over at J Winery; OK, maybe that's too much, but a solid Bee Gees, at least! Seriously, if we wore socks on our teeth, then Chef Mark Caldwell's Lobster Bisque, together with winemaker George Bursick's Hoot Owl Vineyard Viognier, would knock them clean off. And I don't even like Viognier, as a rule.