This week’s Wine Word of the Week is enoteca. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Enoteca is a term used frequently in Italy for a wine shop with a significant range of high-quality wines, as opposed to a bottiglieria, a shop with a more pedestrian selection, and a vineria, run by […]

Today’s post is part of a series featuring the Women of Washington Wine. In an industry once dominated by men, more and more women are joining the ranks as winery owners, vineyard owners, and winemakers. Being a woman myself, I am fascinated by these women and what they have done and continue to do. Through […]

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2008 Three Rivers Winery Riesling from the Columbia Valley of Washington […]

Besides the obvious desire to find glowing reviews for wines that you like, do you prefer detailed notes that test the English language skills of the critic, only a quick and dirty points (or stars) rating, or something in between? Legendary Washington winemaker Bob Betz says, “Consumers have a 2-point system (not a 100-point), Yum […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is spittoon. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Whatever tasters spit into is a spittoon. These can vary from specially designed giant metal funnels, through wooden cases filled with sawdust, to ice buckets, jugs, or, particularly convenient at a seated tasting, personal plastic or […]

For those of you who live near or travel to Seattle, Washington, you are probably familiar with Shuttle Express as the exclusive share-ride provider for SeaTac Airport. What you may not know is that Shuttle Express also has a fleet of luxury vehicles and offers upscale wine tasting tours. In addition to my continued wine […]

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2008 Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d’Asti from the Piedmont region of […]

Dry Creek Vineyard, founded in 1972 by David Stare, is located in the heart of Dry Creek Valley just outside of Healdsburg, California. Well-known for their Fumé Blancs and Zinfandels, Dry Creek Vineyard also produces a number of other good wines. Today, Dry Creek Vineyard is run by David’s daughter Kim Stare Wallace and her […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is spitting. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Spitting is an essential practice at professional tastings where several dozen, often more than 100, wines are regularly offered at the same time. Members of the wine trade, and wine writers, rapidly lose any inhibitions about […]

Dusted Valley Vintners, located in Walla Walla, Washington, was founded in 2003 by brothers-in-law Chad Johnson and Corey Braunel who are co-owners, co-winegrowers, and co-winemakers. Both Chad and Corey are originally from Wisconsin and are proud cheese-heads. In fact, they bring a bit of Wisconsin to Dusted Valley by using some barrels made from Wisconsin […]