Category Archives: California

Drew Winery:  Brilliant Winemaking in the Mendocino Ridge and Anderson Valley

Posted on January 12, 2021 by mike

Drew Winery is the leading producer of Pinot Noir in the Mendocino Ridge AVA, a unique elevation-based coastal growing area in California’s far northern coast.  The winery is owned and operated by Jason and Molly Drew who founded their winery … Continue reading →

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The Farm Winery: 2016 Releases from Paso Robles

Posted on December 18, 2020 by mike

The Farm Winery is one of our favorite wineries in the Paso Robles AVA.   It’s owned and operated by old friends and Stanford Business School alumni Jim Madsen and veteran Argentine winemaker, Santiago Achaval.  Launched in 2009,  it produces … Continue reading →

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Beau Marchais: New Expressions of California Pinot Noir

Posted on December 12, 2020 by don

We recently had the opportunity to taste three outstanding Pinot Noirs released by Beau Marchais, a new project launched in 2019 by two seasoned winemakers, Adam Lee of California and Philippe Cambie of France.  Their joint venture brought together the … Continue reading →

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Vermouth’s Resurgence as Aperitif: Dry and White Vermouths from Europe and America

Posted on December 7, 2020 by don

Vermouth is enjoying growing popularity, including a number of American producers of attractively packaged, premium bottlings.  As shown in the graph below, sales in the US are on a strong upward trend (a 21% increase in US Vermouth imports in 2018 … Continue reading →

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Wines to Brighten Up Your Thanksgiving

Posted on November 10, 2020 by don

For most of us 2020’s Thanksgiving will be different.    Because of the COVID pandemic,  family and friends will not be gathering in  large numbers to celebrate.   Instead,  we’ll keep it smaller for the sake of everyone’s heath. Although we’ll … Continue reading →

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Battuello Vineyards: A Napa Grower’s New Wines

Posted on November 8, 2020 by don

In 1906 Italian immigrant Matteo Battuello arrived in America by steamship docking at Ellis Island.  Relatives in Napa Valley encouraged him to come to California, which he did, and in 1909 he purchased property in Saint Helena and founded Battuello Vineyards. … Continue reading →

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Sangiacomo Wines: Current Releases from Sonoma

Posted on September 14, 2020 by don

The Sangiacomos are third generation farmers in Sonoma with fifteen different vineyards and more than 100 individually farmed sites  located in Carneros, Sonoma Coast, Petaluma Gap and Sonoma Valley. Until recently they exclusively sold grapes to the top wineries in Sonoma … Continue reading →

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Siduri Pinot Noir: Latest Releases from California and Oregon

Posted on July 23, 2020 by don

Siduri is one of America’s preeminent producers of Pinot Noir. Under the guidance of founder Adam Lee, it produces a wide variety of vineyard designated premium wines and blends from celebrated vineyards in California and Oregon. Adam and his winemaker, … Continue reading →

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Cameron Hughes: An American Negociant Offering Wines of Superb Value

Posted on July 20, 2020 by don

Cameron Hughes is a wine négociant who started his eponymous enterprise in 2001, buying excess, bulk wine from well-known California wineries, bottling it and selling it at Costco and other discount locations.  This business model works well when there’s surplus wine. … Continue reading →

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James MacPhail’s Tongue Dancer: New Releases from Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast

Posted on July 20, 2020 by don

Veteran winemaker James MacPhail has four new offerings of his Tongue Dancer wines, and each is a pleasure to drink.  Sourced from top vineyards in the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast, the new releases include a Chardonnay, a Pinot … Continue reading →

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