Last Sunday’s S.F. Chronicle had an article devoted to good wines under $15. The buyers at Cost Plus, BevMo, and Spencer & Daniel’s touted their favorite bargain wines. That gave me the idea to post some of the favorite bargain wines of the Vintage Wine Club. This is a club of seven members who have been meeting regularly for years to discover the ultimate in wine bargains. Each of us is a daily wine drinker and we constantly scan the shelves for bargain wines. When we find something good we share it with each others. Here is our list of top white wines. Next post, the reds. Read the rest of this entry »

There are over 200 wineries in Paso Robles and they come in many sizes and shapes but one winery that is uniquely different is Poalillo Vineyards. Charlie Poalillo is the owner, the winemaker, and the storyteller. Charlie first came to Paso Robles in 1969 as an amateur winemaker to buy grapes and bring them back to his Southern California home. He and his wife Joyce fell in love with Paso Robles and made the move in 1978 and purchased vineyards and their home. Read the rest of this entry »

This trip to Paso Robles marks our tenth year in a row of traveling to this wine country. Much has changed since 1999, some good and some bad. The earthquake of December 2003 and the onslaught of many new wineries have brought about many changes to this old California farming town. In many ways it still is a town in transition. There is still a lot of the old; cowboys strolling the streets, McClintock’s Saloon, Corrigan’s barber shop and others. But for sure, Paso Robles is trying to go upscale. Each year we visit, there are always a few more tasting rooms in town and new wineries to visit. Last year two new fancy hotels opened catering to the wine crowd and the affluent. This year, on Highway 46 West just before Vineyard Drive, a huge winery is under construction. It looks quite out of place in the Paso landscape of rolling hills, oak trees, and beautiful vineyards. Read the rest of this entry »

Soon after returning from a visit to Spain in the Spring of 1994 I began my trials and tribulations of attempting to cook the perfect Paella dish. Here we are some 15 years later and even though I think I make a seriously good Paella, I am still trying to master this famous Spanish meal. This past Saturday I learned interesting tips and tricks from one of the best-known Paella celebrities around, chef Gerard Nebesky. Every weekend, he and his crew cook up huge Paella dishes for events throughout Sonoma and Napa Counties and even beyond. Gerard was cooking at the annual Vendemmia party at Montemaggiore Winery in the Dry Creek Valley and I was lucky to be one of the invited guests. Lise and Vince Ciolino, owners of Montemaggiore, had about 120 guests at their home to celebrate the harvest with their wines and Gerard’s delicious Paella. Read the rest of this entry »

By the end of this month, the 2009 grape harvest will be 99 percent over. The last grapes to be picked this month are usually Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The reports from vineyards managers, winemakers, and winery owners indicate that this will be an exceptional vintage. Nature has been kind to grapes this year. Last year frost and forest fires took their toll on many vineyards. This recent rainstorm should be okay for the thick-skinned Cabernet grapes that had not been harvested prior to the rain. This will certainly be a fun harvest to follow from now until the bottles hit the shelves.

One interesting note about this year’s harvest, some growers were not able to sell their grapes to their usual customers and many have been forced to let the grapes hang on the vine and drop on their own. The last thing wineries want in this economy is a grape glut. Word is that some wineries skipped this vintage altogether because they still had large wine inventories. Read the rest of this entry »

Once again the Vintage Wine Tasters discover yet another amazing wine bargain. This time, a Pinot Noir wine for $17 from a wine-growing area in California unknown to almost any wine expert or critic. The Vintage Wine Tasters met on this past Wednesday and tasted six highly-touted bargain Pinot Noir wines. We wanted to see if we could find a delicious Pinot Noir for under $25. Any Pinot Noir wine lover knows what a difficult task this is as prices have soared ever since the “Sideways” movie glorified Pinot Noir and knocked poor Merlot for a loop. Read the rest of this entry »

It was just this past March that we visited Argentina and this wine tasting event at the Regency Center in San Francisco brought back many memories of our wonderful trip. We quickly found the Tapiz table where we were surprised to see none other than the owner of the winery, Patricia Ortiz, pouring her wines. She mentioned that she had read our blog about our stay at her wine lodge, the Club Tapiz, and our visit to the Tapiz winery. Her warmth and friendliness is so typical of the Argentine people.

To us, the Malbec wines of Argentina are easy-drinking wines and I am convinced that it must be very difficult to make a bad Malbec in Mendoza. I can also say the same for Malbec Rosés and the white, fragrant Torrontes wine from the Salta region. We don’t see too many of the Rosé wines in the U.S. but I can guarantee that you will like these more than any domestic Rosé wines. One thing that surprised us at this tasting was the number of wineries producing other varietals. We tasted Chardonnay, Viognier, Char/Viognier, Pinot Grigio, Syrah, Cabernet, Bonarda, and even a little Pinot Noir. Read the rest of this entry »

Merriam Vineyards is one of the newest wineries in Healdsburg wine country. Owners Peter and Diana purchased several vineyards in 2000 and this year opened a very attractive New England style winery and tasting room. We visited this winery on Wednesday with friends, took a quick tour, and had the chance to taste all of the Merriam wines. Should you put this winery on your “must visit” list? Read the rest of this entry »

Wow, what an amazing winery in so many ways. You must plan a day trip to visit this new winery that sits high atop the mountains of Dry Creek Valley. Although the winery is officially in Dry Creek, it is far from any of the wineries on Dry Creek Road that you might have visited in the past. It is remote, beautiful, and breathtaking. Put it on your list of wineries as a “must visit.”

Dan Gustafson and his family have developed this remarkable winery on 260 acres of beautiful oak woodland forest. 20 acres have been planted with vineyards, all organically farmed. The winery building and the home of the Gustafsons are spectacular to say the least. The view from the front of the house extends all the way to Mountain St. Helena, 26 miles away. Within view is the Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma Valley, and the Napa Valley. Up on the hill on the opposite side is the picnic area that sits under beautiful Madrone trees. Here visitors are treated to another spectcular view to the north and Lake Sonoma. The vineyards are at 1800 feet, making them the highest vineyards in Sonoma County. Read the rest of this entry »

We always enjoy a visit to Preston Vineyards, but this time our visit was more special than usual. We had the pleasure of meeting and taking a tour with Lou Preston. Lou’s story began 40 years ago when Lou and his wife Susan purchased their property in the Dry Creek Valley. They slowly grew their winery and vineyards, producing some 25,000 cases of wine. In the year 2000, they decided that big is not necessarily a good thing. They began to “grow down” their winery and today produce 8000 cases of wine, and farm and live a lifestyle that is environmentally in tune with their farmland.

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