This week's intimate wine tasting with a producer was one that was completely new to me. I've been labeled as someone who revels in all the weird little niche regions--like I started ringing the bell on Virginia wine years ago when everyone still thought nothing of it, and I recently had an eye-opening experience with... Continue Reading →
Charming Chilean Carménère
Few grapes have been so widely misunderstood as Chilean Carménère. Once thought to be nothing more than Merlot, this grape has had a pretty short lifespan as its own namesake in the country where it is now considered a flagship. It was in 1994, just about 25 years ago that Carménère was discovered to be... Continue Reading →
Tasting Texas Hill Country Wine at Fall Creek Vineyards on Winetraveler.com
Finally, some fresh winetasting content in 2020 from a new-to-me winery. We had the opportunity to visit Fall Creek Vineyards at their Driftwood, Texas location earlier this month. Wow, what a great little family-owned winery in Texas Hill Country. Ed & Susan Auler are just the sweetest owners, full of hospitality & stories. Tasting Texas... Continue Reading →
Bodegas CARO: A Partnership in Wine
What happens when you combine two historically significant winemaking families from iconic regions in the Old and New World in a historic winery location set to the backdrop of the Andes Mountains? It may seem like a dream for many wine lovers, but this scenario does, in fact, exist in real life at Bodegas CARO... Continue Reading →
Top 10 Wine Regions to Visit When Travel Resumes in 2021 on Winetraveler.com
When we all look back at 2020, what will we remember? We've spent the year "sheltering in place" with those who live in our household, and many folks may not plan on leaving their homes until the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Day 2021. For most of the world, this has been a year... Continue Reading →
Visiting Loudoun County Virginia: Wine, History, Attractions and More on Winetraveler.com
I have a story about Virginia and wine. If you've been following along through my wine adventures since the beginning (2012), then you know I started writing this blog while I was living in Arlington, VA and exploring Virginia wine country. It was truly my "start" in wine writing, and I consider Virginia wine my... Continue Reading →
Discover Mendoza’s Wine Country on Winetraveler.com
Amazing Argentina: A beautiful country full of natural wonders and lots of wine. It's the land of Malbec, which has a rich history and story to tell. Just last week, I had the pleasure of attending an event hosted by Bodega Catena Zapata, where we had the opportunity to taste through several lines of premium... Continue Reading →
Luigi Bosca, Argentina’s Oldest Family-Run Winery
It may seem as though I write quite frequently about Argentina and Argentine wine, and that is true. I did spend six weeks in the country back in 2017, which is the longest I've spent consecutively living and traveling around a country outside of the U.S., so needless to say, Argentina has a place in... Continue Reading →
On Coravin: Domaine Bousquet: Pioneering Sustainability in Argentina’s Mendoza Wine Region
Paul Mabray, a wine professional I follow on Twitter, recently tweeted that "Winery sustainability is NOT just about the environmental impact. It’s about living wages, work/life balance, healthy vendors, social contracts, community contributions, R&D investments and esp. making profit." I retweeted the comment because I thought it was poignant, but I didn't realize at the... Continue Reading →
History & Technology Converge at Joe Wagner’s Copper Cane Wines on Winetraveler
There are few American winemaking families who have made a name for themselves as the Wagner family of Caymus Vineyards has. A multi-generational winemaking family, the Wagners have successfully passed the art of winemaking from father to son and daughter. Though Caymus was founded in 1972, the family has been in Napa Valley since the... Continue Reading →