Touring Catena’s Adrianna Vineyard was awesome. They showed us the different soils that make two of their Chardonnay’s. One is called White Stones because there are tons of white stones in it (easy enough…); the other is called white bones because sea animals used to live in it and their shells (“bones”) now feed the … Continue reading
On our first day in Argentina, we went to Nieto in Luján de Cuyo, which is in northern Mendoza. They make a ton of Malbec (obv, since that’s what Mendoza is known for) but also some good Bonarda and Torrontes among a few others. One cool thing was to see how they train some vines … Continue reading
It was the wrong day to wear a dress. We got to the coastal Leyda Vineyards in San Antonio, Chile and the morning fog had become the afternoon fog so it was freezing. Usually fog dissipates by noon but it hadn’t. We started to chat about the Pinot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc they specialize in. … Continue reading
Most winemakers try to figure out what’s the best kind of grape to grow in each particular vineyard. Terra Noble in Casablanca was telling us that’s what they’ve taken pains to do, taking into account the climate, soil, slope and everything else that goes into the concept of terroir. “Everything in its right place,” they … Continue reading
I love a good truck ride through a vineyard. Today: Viña Ventisquero in the Apalta Valley. Our rickety truck provided us with insane views and dust in every crevice of our bodies. (I kept singing that Kings of Leon song “dusty, oh dustyyyy” in my head the whole time.) Sergio the winemaker showed us how … Continue reading
Despite the fact that I’m grapefriend and just landed in Chile for an amazing wine trip, my first meal was at the Mercado Central which is a humongous fish market in Santiago that provided us with a non-wine highlight. The building was built around 150 years ago and has amazing iron work. We walked around … Continue reading
It’s harvest time all around the land (well, the northern land), and Stoller Wines in Dundee Hills, Oregon, was busy picking their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay when I was there last weekend. It’s an amazing time to visit a winery, and here are just a few reasons why: 1 They play Eminem in the tank … Continue reading
grape: Pinot Noir producer: Talley Vineyards. They started out planted vegetables in 1948 in Arroyo Grande (near Edna Valley), and then (luckily for us) planted vines in 1982. They make great restrained wines, unlike lots of big. fruity California ones. country: USA region: Arroyo Grande Valley, CA year: 2011 yum factors: Had a bunch of their Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs last weekend and … Continue reading
Went to a great dinner last night with Sandeman port to try the newly-declared 2011 vintage. When a grape-growing year is particularly good, they “declare” it as a vintage year and use only that year’s grapes in the bottle (Champagne does the same thing). We tried the 2011 which was full of fresh red berries, … Continue reading
What an awesome weather month we had! Not too hot, not too cold, but every once in a while a chill enough where you wanted to pop open a light red. And most importantly, the return of football which here in grapefriend land means a lot of wine drinking! This month, I did a contest … Continue reading
