Tag: russian river valley

JCB Tasting Lounge (Courtesy photo)

Best Sparkling Wineries in Sonoma and Napa

Bubbleheads, behold our guide to Sonoma and Napa wineries that specialize in sparkling - and what bubbles you shouldn't miss when you visit.

Five Spring White Wines to Enjoy in Sonoma County

This time of year is a conundrum. We have one muddy shoe in the rainy season, while the other is tap dancing under sun-kissed skies. We don’t dare leave our jackets in the hall closet … or do we? Our palates are just as confused but, in the end, can’t resist the urge to chase […]

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.

Eat Pig, Drink Pinot, Save Our Schools

I have mixed feelings about school fund-raisers: On the one hand, like most parents, I have kids in public schools that fall chronically short of financial resources; on the other, I believe that I already pay more than enough in taxes to expect a properly funded system of public education, that the root of the problem is not the quantity of money available, but rather the means by which it is allocated. In any case, on the morning after our Pigs 'n Pinot fund-raising dinner, I am hungover, fat, and happy all the same.

AV Chardonnay Calls BS on ABC (Part 2 of 3)

I may live in the Russian River Valley – indisputably, home court to any number of world-class Chardonnay winemakers – but I’m here to tell you that, if well-made, sexpot Chards are your thing, then you need to get your Chard-guzzling booty over to the Alexander Valley, and stat. You won’t find nearly the selection […]

AV Chardonnay Calls BS on ABC (Part 1 of 3)

Google "ABC Anything But Chardonnay" and you'll get something on the order of 19,000 hits in the first few tenths of a second. The oldest reference I could be bothered to find dates to 1995 in a column by Frank Prial for the NY Times, but as recently as 2008, someone actually took the time to write a book with the same dated and misguided tag line, so