Quivira’s Hugh Chappelle Makes a Rock Star Rosé

Hugh Chappelle had a precocious palate. While just a kid he was an everyday wine drinker, thanks to his German mother who gave him a taste of the finest rieslings. Chappelle is the winegrower behind our wine-of the-week winner — Quivira, 2015 Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County Rosé at $22. The Quivira is a striking […]
Sebastiani Tasting Room

Sonoma County Wine Tasting Rooms for Spring

Early spring is a time of renewal in the vineyards, with naked vines beginning to sprout. It’s a beautiful season to enjoy what’s in bloom and the beginnings of longer days and sunshine. Wineries offer new releases as well as barrel sampling, a spring ritual sure to make you feel like a connoisseur. Wine writer […]
Beverage director Jordan Nova selects a bottle from the many featured wines at 1313 Main in Napa on Friday, October 11, 2013. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Wine of the Week: Kenwood Vineyards’ Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaking is the perfect blend of Mother Nature, science and art. That’s how Pat Henderson sees it. Henderson, 53, is the chief winemaker behind our wine-of-the week winner, the Kenwood Vineyards 2012 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon at $19. The cabernet has enticing aromas of black raspberry and currant. On the palate, the wine is weighted […]

Sonoma County Winery Tasting Rooms to Visit This Winter

  Winter is quiet and contemplative in Sonoma, a time when grapevines go dormant and the wines from the 2015 harvest are at rest in cellars. The countryside can be beautiful, dark golden and gray, without a grape leaf in sight. It’s a fine season to stop in at wineries, which are apt to be […]