51 posts
2023 St. Francis Sonoma County Pinot Noir ($25.99) The fruit for this wine was sourced from multiple vineyards in the Sonoma Coast region. This Pinot was fermented using a combination of techniques, fusing both old and new world styles of Pinot Noi...
2022 Gary Farrell Russian River Selection Pinot Noir ($22) Gary Farrell Russian River Selection Pinot Noir is blended from some of the region’s top vineyards. The Rochioli and Bacigalupi vineyards are in the Middle Reach subdivision, where close pro...
2024 Domaine Bousquet Gaia Pinot Noir Rosé ($20) Gaia, the Greek goddess of the Earth, has been the Bousquet family’s inspiration since founding the winery in 1997. According to Ancient Greek mythology, Gaia (Guy-uh) was one of the primordial deitie...
As we’ve learned, Chile’s coastal wine country is heavily influenced by the Humboldt Current. Here are three excellent examples of the Pinot Noir being produced along Chile’s coast. 2022 Concha Y Toro “Amelia” Pinot Noir ($55) The grapes for this w...
August 18th is International Pinot Noir Day, so let’s take a quick look at some interesting facts about this wonderful grape. In previous blogs we got an overview of the Pinot grape and the tremendous number of Pinot synonyms (258!) and looked at th...
2023 Gaia Pinot Noir Rosé ($18) GAIA [ɡâi̯.a], the Greek Goddess of the Earth, has been the inspiration of the Bousquet family since the founding of their winery in 1997 when they pioneered and cleared virgin land in the highlands of the Gualtallary...
2021 C’EST LA VIE Pinot Noir + Syrah Blend ($13) C’EST LA VIE wines “invites you to simply take life as it comes.” C’EST LA VIE wines are imported from the Pays d’Oc IGP in Southern France. This region covers all the wines that are not made under ...
2021 Domaine Bousquet Reserve Pinot Noir ($18) A step up from their premium varietal line, this ‘Reserve’ Domaine Bousquet Pinot Noir is produced from estate-grown grapes from plots with low yields that offer more of everything – more body, more tan...
In previous blogs we got an overview of the Pinot grape and the tremendous number of Pinot synonyms (258!) and looked at the least known of the Pinots, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris. Now let’s look at the most notable of the Pinots - Pinot Noir. Pino...
2019 Ritual Pinot Noir ($21) The Ritual estate is situated in the extreme eastern end of Chile’s Casablanca Valley that is heavily influenced by the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean — ideal growing conditions for Pinot Noir. Following organic...
2020 County Line Pinot Noir ($32) This County Line Pinot Noir is from California’s Sonoma Coast. The first vintage of County Line was solely dedicated to producing a dry Rosé from a whole-cluster pressed Champagne clone of Pinot Noir. Subsequently...
Ultraviolet Sparkling Rosé ($24.99) This Ultraviolet sparkling rosé is from Poe Wines, in Napa, which was founded by Samantha Sheehan in 2009 after being inspired by the wines she tasted in Burgundy and Champagne. Their goal “is not to replicate Bur...
The Wines of Josh Cellars Joseph Carr discovered his love for wine at a young age, working his way up in the restaurant industry from a wine steward to a world-class sommelier and later, a wine executive. In 2007, he left it all behind to follow his...
Amrita Cellars is a small boutique winery that began with its 2017 production of three barrels and 75 cases. It remains small with limited productions in order to focus on producing the best. Amrita Cellars works with the best growers and ultimately ...
2017 Ritual Pinot Noir ($19.99) The Ritual estate is situated in the extreme eastern end of Chile’s Casablanca Valley that is heavily influenced by the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean — ideal growing conditions for Pinot Noir. Following orga...
Silvia Cellars is a small family-owned winery whose mission is to produce a small number of high-quality California wines from some of California’s best vineyards. And, matching vineyard to varietal is the key to their process for producing outstandi...
Embraced for their freshness, vibrant aromatics and fruit-forward qualities, wines from Tupungato Valley in Mendoza’s Uco Valley have become “must-haves” for Argentine connoisseurs. Domaine Bousquet, an early pioneer in this high-altitude sub-region ...
Ron Rubin Wines Late in 2011, in fulfillment of a 40-year dream that began in his student days at UC Davis studying viticulture and enology in the early 1970’s, he purchased River Road Family Vineyards and Winery. Rubin was sold on the area, in the ...
2020 Gaia Pinot Noir Rosé ($20) From Domaine Bousquet, Gaia Rosé is from the vineyards of Tupungato, high in Argentina’s Mendoza Uco Valley . This wine takes its name from Gaia, the ancient Greek goddess of the earth and an inspiration for the Bousq...
2019 Organic Sauvignon Blanc ($11.99) 2018 Organic Pinot Noir ($12.99) These organic wines from Veramonte are produced in the Casablanca Valley of Chile. Both are from organically farmed vineyards and delivers the maximum expression of their living...
2018 Hess Select Pinot Noir ($19) Founder Donald Hess instilled in his family business the thought that one should “nurture the land and return what you take.” The Hess winemaking team likes to explore California’s Central Coast growing region when...
2017 Merry Edwards Meredith Estate Russian River Pinot Noir ($68) My favorite Pinot Noir wines are from the Russian River. That’s where I first fell in love with Pinot and I haven’t found a region that can beat it. And, this Merry Edwards Pinot Noir...
2017 Merry Edwards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($48) This Merry Edwards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir comes from six vineyards that include the 115, 667 and 777 blend of Dijon clones that originated in teh cool Burgundian region of France. The 2017 harvest ...
2018 Pfendler Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($55) Nestled in the hillside of Sonoma Mountain, Pfendler Vineyards is a small, family-owned winery. And this limited production Pinot Noir is a wonderful example of their excellence. This is 100% Pinot Noir t...
2017 Left Coast Estate Cali’s Cuvée Pinot Noir ($24) This Cali’s Cuvée from Left Coast Estate is their flagship Pinot Noir. Named for the owner’s daughter, this wine is 100% Pinot Noir. It’s fermented in 100% Stainless Steel and then aged for eigh...
2016 Left Coast Latitude 45° Estate Pinot Noir ($38) This Left Coast Pinot Noir is their oldest vineyards on their Estate and are planted directly along the 45th parallel which is halfway between the North Pole and the Equator and just so happens to...
2017 Kalfu Kuda Pinot Noir ($19) This Pinot Noir from Kalfu is from the Leyda Valley in Chile. Leyda Valley is a sub-region of the San Antonio Valley wine region in Chile, just 55 miles west of the Chilean capital, Santiago. This region by the Paci...
2017 Toad Hollow ‘Eye of the Toad’ Rosé of Pinot Noir ($12) This is certainly the time of year when a cool, crisp and refreshing rosé is just perfect. And this Toad Hollow Rosé of Pinot Noir is a good one. This ‘Eye of the Toad‘ rosé is made from 1...
2017 Left Coast Queen Bee Bubbly ($36) This bubbly from Left Coast Estate winery is 100% Pinot Noir but it gets its name from the fact that it uses their own estate honey to feed on the encapsulated yeast at the bottom of each bottle. Thus, produci...
2018 Left Coast Estate Rosé ($24) Left Coast Cellars produces a bunch of nice wines from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. And, this Rosé is another fine example. This blend of 76% Pinot Noir and 24% Pinot Meunier is fermented and aged in 100% neutr...
2015 Left Coast Cellars Truffle Hill Pinot Noir ($42) This Truffle Hill Pinot Noir is another excellent offering from Oregon’s Left Coast Cellars. It gets its name from the five-acre vineyard that is also home to four acres of European Black Truffl...
Pinot Noir is a wonderful varietal of wine. In the Old World (Europe), Pinot Noir is most famous from the Burgundy region of France. There, it is simply known as ‘Burgundy.’ In the U.S., Pinot Noir is grown in multiple regions. Two notable regions a...
2015 Left Coast Cellars Right Bank Pinot Noir ($42) Here’s another very nice Pinot Noir from Left Coast Cellars. This ‘Right Bank’ Pinot is from their highest elevation vineyard that is planted entirely with Pommard clone Pinot Noir. From 100% Pinot...
2016 Left Coast Cali’s Cuvée Pinot Noir ($24) Left Coast Cellars is located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley where Pinot is king. It’s 100% Pinot Noir, fermented in stainless steel and aged in 100% French oak for nine months. The Pinot’s from Willamet...
2016 MacPhail The Flyer Pinot Noir ($50) If you love Pinot Noir, this one is for you! It’s got wonderfully delicate flavors of red cherry and raspberry, very easy tannin and a melt in your mouth finish. MacPhail wines are a collaboration between T...
Champagne is probably the best known wine in the world. And, there’s a lot to know it about this wine. Here are some fun-facts about Champagne: Champagne is not made from Champagne grapes Champagne is typically produced from three grapes — Pinot ...
During a recent stroll through the produce aisle of my favorite grocery store, I saw a display labeled “Champagne Grapes.” They are beautiful bunches of small red-ish grapes. And, they look really good. But, the first thing that came to my mind was ...
2015 Z. Alexander Brown Uncaged Pinot Noir ($12) This Pinot Noir sources its grapes from Monterey County, Napa County and Sonoma County. Not a bad set of sites for growing Pinot Noir! The back label states “…wines that offer big and bold flavors, y...
2016 Rancho Sisquoc Santa Barbara “Sisquoc River Red” ($10) Now here’s a red blend that recently caught my eye. Not because of any fancy label or special promotion in the store. According to the Rancho Sisquoc website this is 35% Cabernet Sauvignon...
2016 Hess Select Pinot Noir ($20) This Pinot Noir from Hess Select is from California’s Central Coast. Specifically, the Sarmento Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands region. From the Gablian Mountains in Monterey, these grapes experience the cool ...
2016 Cloudline Pinot Noir ($15) Oregon’s Willamette has become quite well known for its Pinot Noir and this one from Cloudline is a fine example. The Cloudline wine was created in 2002 by Dreyfus Ashby who have been This Pinot is part of the Droug...
2015 Erath Pinot Noir ($13) This Pinot Noir is from Oregon, a state that has gotten and continues to get a lot of attention for Pinot Noir. While the Willamette Valley has gotten the most attention for their Pinot Noir, this one is a blend of diffe...
We are just days away now from the big Thanksgiving feast. And one of the most common questions is “What wine pairs best with the Thanksgiving meal?” As we learned last time, the trick is to pair your wine with the type of sides you are serving, no...
2013 Hess Select Central Coast Pinot Noir ($16) This Pinot Noir is from the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey, CA . Nice red fruit flavors of sour cherry, rhubarb and Pomegranate. Another fine Pinot Noir from California at a very reasonable price. ...
Z. Alexander Brown 2014 Russian River Valley Uncaged Pinot Noir ($13) The Russian River Valley is renowned for its delicious Pinot Noir. And this is another fine example. With aromas of red fruit such as raspberry and cranberry, this Pinot Noir lean...
2014 Line 39 California Pinot Noir ($10) ‘Line 39’ represents the 39th parallel of Northern California’s wine country and this Pinot Noir is from vineyards in Monterey. As with most California Pinot Noirs, this wine has nice strawberry, raspberry an...
Kenwood Russian River Pinot Noir ($13) The Russian River Valley is home of some of the greatest Pinot Noir to be found. This one from Kenwood is a very nice example and a great value. With red fruit flavors of raspberry and cherry along with hints o...
The Pinot Noir grape is a red grape most famously known for the production of red Burgundy. And today’s new world Pinot Noir wines, especially from California and Oregon, are wonderfully delicate light bodied red wines with flavors of cherry, raspber...
When pairing wines with food, the general goal is to make sure that the flavors of the food don’t overwhelm the wine and cover up all of the wine’s wonderful flavors. And the basic rule of wine pairing says that you should have a red wine with beef a...
Previously I covered the most widely known white Burgundy (Bourgogne Blanc) from Chablis. We learned that wines from Chablis are produced from the Chardonnay grape. The other most notable wines from Burgundy are red wines (Bourgogne Rouge). And, the...
Have you ever opened a bottle of wine, poured a glass, taken a sip, and then asked yourself “Has this wine gone bad?” Sometimes a defective wine is hard to establish, but other times there is no question that the bottle has gone bad. Last week I we...