You know you’re in a great neighborhood when what’s supposed to be a five minute stop-and-say-hello visit at a neighbor’s house while dog walking turns into a multi-hour, home-cooked dinner (with several wines imbibed, naturally). Another blessing to count, and another reason why we love where we live (yeah, even if it’s in the North…
Category: crowd pleaser wines
Working At Too Perfect? (Michael Mondavi Recent – And Not So Recent – Releases)
“See, this pisses me off…” Rob Mondavi, Jr. is upset. Moderately. It’s almost difficult to imagine why, given the sunny day, and the subsequently stunning Napa Valley view from his family’s Animo vineyard on Atlas Peak. But moderately upset he is. The trigger for Mondavi’s small bit of angst? The spacing of the pruning cuts…
Old School Cool (Casa Nuestra Recent Releases)
A conversation I had at the tail end of the 2014 Premiere Napa Valley Auction: Alder Yarrow: “So, where are you visiting when you’re in town?” Me: “I’ve got appointments at Stony Hill, Kapcsandy, Casa Nuestra…” Alder: “Casa Nuestra! Oh, yeeeah!” Me: “Did you just squeal?” And so there you have it, one of the…
The Godfather, The Orc, & Timeless Spaghetti Westerners (Ravenswood Single Vineyard Zinfandel Recent Releases)
My third run-in with Joel Peterson – founder of Ravenswood, ZAP Association board of directors member, and dubbed “the godfather of Zinfandel” – might have been the most interesting one to date. And that’s saying something, considering that the first time I met him (to talk about the potential of East Coast wines) he tried…