Archive for the ‘Wine Places’ Category
Allow me to quote Charles Olken from the preface of his newest book "The New Connoissuers' Guidebook to California Wine & Wineries": "It is now three decades since my first book, The Connoissuers' Handbook of California Wine, appeared in print." Olken, through numerous editions of that original Handbook, and through his newsletter, The Connosseurs' Guide To California Wine (born in 1974), has been regulatory and habitually chronicling the California wine landscape longer than anyone I know. He understands its evolution,…
I had the chance to meet with two pretty impressive wine minds this morning and an interesting topic emerged: How will the wine media in America portray the 2010 harvest/vintage in California/Napa/Sonoma? Will they take the proper perspective, talk to numerous vintners and growers, take account of the different pace of ripenng for different varieties and give a balanced perspective? Or will they undertake to paint with a brush so broad that upon speaking with one grower who described a…
First things first: No, "Napa Valley" and "Sonoma County" and the "North Coast" can not together nor separately appropriately be described as singular weather zones. Put another way, grapes grown on the valley floor in the Yountville region of Napa and grapes grown near the top of Spring Mountain in Napa Valley are likely to have experienced differing weather conditions throughout the year. The same can be said for Alexander Valley and the Sonoma/Carneros region. That said, the harvest in…
The density of culinary delights that exist in the Napa Valley creates the kind of attraction that foodies have to this region that might be compared to the way matter gets sucked into a black hole. The culinarily inclined simply can't resist the pull of this valley. I mentioned one such example of culinary decadence in an earlier post. The doughnut holes produced at Solbar located on the grounds of the sumptuous Solage Spa and Resort located just south of…
The key to successfully living in the town of Napa, I've discovered, is to appreciate what you are closer to, and therefore get to more quickly, than had you not moved to this bustling city that anchors the south end of Napa Valley. It's been five months since I moved from Sonoma to Napa. I've had a good deal of time to explore the outlines and contours of this city. And while I remain extraordinarily happy with my decision to…
