Forget about football and beer. Everyone needs to be all in on wine for game day. Know who agrees with me? Rick Mirer, ex quarterback for the Seahawks. He’s been making wine in Napa for the past five years. Love football, love wine, love anyone who can bring the two together! Here’s what he told me … Continue reading
“My father was a classic gentleman.” This is what Bernard Portet said about his dad, who was the technical director at Château Lafite in Bordeaux back int he day, while we tasted his wines. Well, the grape doesn’t fall far from the vine. Bernard is French, charming (obviously), and a Napa legend who has made amazing … Continue reading
It was obvious the Giants were going to win the World Series for two reasons: 1) Their name is the Giants, and all Giants rule sports. 2) They celebrated with the better bubbly (Mumm Napa versus the Tigers’ non-alcoholic Fre Brut). This was a no-brainer sweep. I do wish journalists would stop saying these teams … Continue reading
We’ve got our World Series, people! Who’s more excited than grapefriend? Well, a lot of people. But I AM excited to have our final champagne showdown (even though technically most teams have celebrated with sparkling wine, not Champagne, but I digress…). Seems that our bubbly baseballers are pretty loyal to their brands. When the Tigers … Continue reading
The whole week in Napa and Sonoma was awesome, but here were a few moments that were extra awesome. 1 drinking Cab Franc next to the vineyard where it came from We drink a lot of wine. But really it all comes down to one thing: a grape. People talk a lot about how that … Continue reading
Visited lots of wineries last week. One that stood out was Cliff Lede (pronounced “lay-dee”). Had already tasted and loved the wine, but the place is cool too for a bunch of reasons. the double hearts When you walk through the entry room, you enter this great garden with these double hearts by Jim Dine. … Continue reading
Best wine today? It was out of a barrel. Phillipe Melka, sick sick sick winemaker and my new favorite person, gave me a taste of his still-aging Sauvignon Blanc. I didn’t even have to taste it though – the insane tangerine honeysuckle scent could’ve been more than enough. I told him he should make perfume … Continue reading
Just had fantastic tour and tasting with Jessica Palmaz. Cool to see the family operations with our family. Amazing gravity-driven facilities in the mountain, cross between Austin Powers and Willy Wonka. Annnnd the wine did not suck…. At all. Also love that they made a non-alcoholic Muscat for the four-year-old nephew! Totally what we would … Continue reading
You drink a lot when you’re in Napa. You go to wineries, you drink at lunch and dinner, and basically you just taste everything put in your hand, which happens often. So we tasted a lot on our first day. A bunch of Cabernets, sure (it’s Napa), but my favorite was surprisingly Cakebread’s 2010 Anderson … Continue reading
What’s the best way to end your day of winery visits? More wine – and cornhole. We got some good wines to taste at Paraduxx – my faves were the rosé and the Z Blend – pretty great with the charcuterie and Mimolette cheese. The we topped it off with a killer game of cornhole. … Continue reading
