California

New Year’s Eve Sparklers

Dec. 31st is Champagne/Sparkling Wine Day. And why not have a better day? I always drink some sort of a sparkling wine on New Years Eve, whether it’s cava, champagne, crémant or other forms of sparkling wine, I usually have something bubbly to drink when the clock strikes midnight. Two that I enjoy for celebrations […]

California

Summer of Rosé: 2014 Rodney Strong Rosé of Pinot Noir

“Summer of what?” You ask. Rosé. Duh. My goal is to provide you, my dear readers, with a new rosé to seek out and try. Hence, the title…Summer of Rosé. I will forewarn you, some of the wines are only available through the tasting rooms. I will do my best to provide you with the […]

California

WBC 14 – Another year in the books…

So I’ve been home from WBC 14 for 5 days and in that time, there have been some fantastic posts about WBC come across my Facebook feed. Here are some of the posts that I’ve particularly enjoyed: My response to the Panel of Professional Print Writers from Vindulge. – The most eloquent criticism I’ve read […]

California

Caymus 40th Anniversary Tasting

Through a stroke of genius, and happening to constantly praise them via Twitter for having the best wine selection when it comes to Washington wine, I was invited to participate in a tasting and webcast at Total Wine & More on June 14th. This tasting happened to be the Caymus 40th Anniversary tasting. Knowing that […]

California

Selections from “The International Wine of the Month” Club

Around WBC time, I was contacted about reviewing selections from the International Wine of the Month Club. The International Wine of the Month Club is part of a larger group, Monthly Clubs, that also does beer, chocolate, flowers, cheese and cigars. Or, if you’re a fan of mixing and matching, they have a “Design Your […]

California

A Triple Header – 3 Wines from winechateau.com

I was presented the opportunity to taste some wine from Wine Chateau, a retailer with both a brick-and-mortar presence in Metchuen, NJ & South River, NJ and an online storefront as well. I was sent three wines, an Italian Cab/Merlot blend, a California Cabernet Sauvignon and a California Pinot Noir. The first wine was the […]

California

Trione Winery – A Medley of Wines

Around the holidays, I was contacted by Trione Winery to try their wines. I gladly accepted, as I’m always eager to try new (to me) producers! First off, how danged cute are those little bottles? They’re the perfect size for tasting, traveling or just nights where you want a glass of wine, but don’t want […]

California

WBC Day 2, part 2 – Speed Dating Part II

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m waaaaaaaaaay behind on this. Between craziness at work (helllloooo mandatory overtime…and no, I don’t work in retail!!), being sick for god only knows how long (the bug overstayed it’s welcome) and in light of the events in recent weeks (if you’re not familiar with what’s happened, google “Clackamas mall shooting” […]

California

Hard work pays off…Domaine Chandon étoile Rosé

So, after a seemingly long 5½ weeks of training (really? Have I been there for nearly 6 full weeks already? Damn, time flies!!), I discovered that I had fully passed my company’s training program. Yes, I still have to survive until Friday in the training program, but the biggest hurdle was achieved in day 2 […]

Charity Wines

Drinking For A Cause – 2009 ONEHOPE Arroyo Seco Reserve Pinot Noir

First off, an apology for just up and disappearing. Things got a little crazy in my personal life and…yeah. I had to put this on the backburner. But I’m back, with my batteries recharged and ready to go!! Over the last year, I have followed the successes, the trials and the tribulations of two extremely […]