Featured Reviews+Interviews

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merrymaking with merryvale

reviews : wine producers

Merryvale Vineyards Winemaker Interview

A visit to the grounds of Merryvale Vineyards reveals everything we've come to expect of a Napa Valley winery: graceful design, serene landscaping, warm hospitality, and, of course, quality-driven wines. On scratching the surface, though, we discover something that doesn't…

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a diamond is forever

reviews : wine producers

Diamond Creek Vineyards Interview

In the epic tale behind California's wine industry, Diamond Creek Vineyards is a legend in itself. Yet little did its founder, the late Al Brounstein, know at the time he bought his land in 1968 that he would later be making lasting history with the methods he chose to craft his quality driven Cabernet Sauvignon. With a combination of keen…

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vertical vineyard

reviews : wine producers

Interview with the Talent behind Hidden Ridge Vineyard

With vine rows reaching gradiant slopes as steep as 55%, Hidden Ridge Vineyard is, without a doubt, an anomaly among grapegrowing properties in the United States.  The creative scheme and audacious endeavor of owners Lynn Hofacket and Casidy Ward, it also boasts some of the densest planting of grapevines found on any hillside site…

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soil of serpentine

reviews : wine producers

Interview with the Entrepreneur behind Blue Rock Vineyard

The surface of Alexander Valley's utmost potential as a wine region has barely been scratched. At least that's the belief of a small cadre of local producers dedicated to crafting premium Bordeaux varietal wines - of whom one is particularly adamant in his determination to help realize that promise. Kenneth Kahn, proprietor of Blue Rock Vineyard…

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super in sonoma

reviews : wine producers

Interview with the Winemaker of Super Sonoman

Many in Sonoma County would take issue with being told that their winemaking region suffers from what might be called a bit of a varietal void. But arguably, much of its reputation has been built on the quality-driven production of Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Can the same thing be said of Cabernet Sauvignon? In asserting the…

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keen on keenan

reviews : wine producers

Interview with the Winemaking Owner of Keenan Winery

It was with his hillside Napa Merlot that Robert Keenan's eponymous winery was planted squarely on the world's wine map twenty years ago. Since then, a new generation of ownership under his son has resulted in significant changes in vineyard practices, varietal choices, and overall business philosophy that have propelled the producer well into…

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eastern exposure

reviews : wine producers

Interview with the Founding Owner of Napa's Oakville East

The American consumer is one who heavily identifies with brands.  And while super-premium wine is an agricultural product whose quality is heavily predicated on the geographical origin of its grapes, branding is nevertheless front and center in the sales strategies of most produced in this country.  Yet where does the concept of terroir…

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vested interest

reviews : wine producers

Interview with the Winemaker of Napa's Salvestrin

The face of the Napa Valley has changed dramatically over the last generation.  During that time, scores of new wineries have been established and the resulting growth in commerce and tourism has been staggering.  But in the midst of all this bustle and boom, there persists a number of small, family owned and operated vineyards whose history…

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altitude adjustment

reviews : wine tasting events

"Napa Valley with Altitude" Wine Event

Altitude.  It's what distinguishes "hillside" or "mountain" fruit from grapes that are grown on flatter, lower lying areas.  In the Napa Valley, the Mayacamas mountain range is home for the vines bearing such fruit, residing specifically in any one of its three AVAs (American Viticultural Areas), as they're officially called…

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roc solid

reviews : wine producers

Interview of VinRoc Wine Caves

Between the rocky soil of its hillside vineyard and the granite encountered during the excavation of its wine cave, VinRoc has had quite the solid theme of rock running through its story.  I had initially met its proprietors, Kiky and Michael Parmenter, during the 2008 Family Winemakers event, whereupon I tasted wines from their small but super-premium portfolio…

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commerce meets community

reviews : wine merchants & services

Interview with the CEO of Bottlenotes

Imagine a single place where you could easily buy wines, talk about them with friends old and new, discover ones that perfectly suit your taste, and then share your discoveries in the form of gifts to others. Welcome to Bottlenotes. Not your run-of-the mill online wine…

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the magic of montemaggiore

reviews : wine producers

Interview of Monte- maggiore Winery

Biodynamics.  Based in a holistic and largely spiritual world view, it seeks to balance the interrelationship of land with the plants and animals thriving on it as a tightly integrated and self-nourishing system.  While a great deal of biodynamic principles remain unexplained and in many cases even questionable, increasingly more grape growers in the wine industry are…

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two d'état

reviews : wine merchants & services

Interview with the CEO of Wine 2.0

Wine.  Technology.  They're industries that aren't normally associated with one another in casual conversation.  After all, they do tend to attract people with respectively different mindsets and values: one with its artisanal passion for craftsmanship, the other with its methodical drive for development.  But with their common affinity for creativity, the two unlikeliest of bedfellows have come together…

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vine-staker to winemaker

reviews : wine producers

Interview of La Honda Winery

A quasi-urban wasteland of industrial warehouses and technology business parks, Redwood City is, without a doubt, among the unlikeliest of locations for a producer of premium California wines.  But it was in this very setting that I found myself during a recent visit to La Honda Winery, one of the increasingly numerous of its kind as part of the "urban…

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grapes & gastronomy

reviews : wine producers

Interview w/ CEO of Headstart Gourmet

When we think of food and wine together, it often involves pairing the two.  We might have an aromatic white to go with our papaya salad, a hearty red to drink with that filet mignon, or a dry rosé to enjoy with an antipasto plate.  But what about integrating wine into food?  That's a bit of a different story and one…

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from coterie to cuvée

reviews : wine producers

Interview of Coterie Cellars urban winery

There was a time when the term "urban winery" would have been considered an oxymoron.  But for wine producers who source their fruit from growers, the lack of attachment to any particular vineyard allows for a great degree of choice regarding winery location.  An increasing number of them are opting to set up shop in areas that may be a…

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a garden in geyserville

reviews : wine producers

Interview of Garden Creek Vineyards

When we think of a garden, we're likely to imagine a small plot of land that's meticulously tended to and lovingly cared for — a testament, really, to the connection between plant and gardener.  Albeit on a slightly larger scale, it's with similar attention to detail and devotion to  nurturing that Karin and Justin Miller look after their own garden…

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the glow of rubissow

reviews : wine producers

Interview of Rubissow Wines

Steeped in tradition, yet focused on the future.  Reverent of the land, yet driven to pushing its potential.  Seasoned in experience, yet vibrant with ardor and enthusiasm.  Such is the balance struck at the house of Rubissow, the Napa Valley family estate winery that runs on the disciplined vineyard management, erudite winemaking, and savvy…

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duke & duchess of dutcher

reviews : wine producers

Interview of Dutcher Crossing Winery

"When you step foot on it, you know you are home."  With these simple words Debra Mathy, proprietor of Sonoma's Dutcher Crossing Winery, describes not only the experience she seeks for visitors to her Dry Creek Valley estate but also the very essence of her role in the wine…

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grape enabled

reviews : wine merchants & services

Interview w/ Creator of Wine Search Engine "Able Grape"

A wine buff.  A tech whiz.  An unlikely pair?  Perhaps, but in engineer-cum-wine-enthusiast Doug Cook, they're actually one and the same.  Fueled by his talents and background in web search technology, and steered by his knowledge and passion for wine, Cook has succeeded in his ambition to create the internet's first search engine dedicated to the world of wine: Able Grape.

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the creek boutique

reviews : wine producers

Interview of Charles Creek Vineyard

I'm normally very cautious about making sweeping generalizations when it comes to wine.  As an artisan-driven product with a dizzying array of styles, production techniques, regions of origin, distribution channels, and variations stemming from climate and soil, wine is entirely too complex to sum up with a single turn of phrase or flourish of hand…

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cruvee's groovy

reviews : wine merchants & services

Interview with CEO of Social Wine Medium "Cruvee"

The wine industry is changing.  One area in which we see this happening most rapidly, not surprisingly, is in media.  The dynamic and interactive nature of the internet is allowing a new generation of wine consumers and trade professionals to share information in ways and to a degree that the industry has never before seen, but is poised to revolutionize…

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