Founded by Rich Frank and Koerner Rombauer in 1996, Napa Cellars was acquired by Trinchero Family Estates ten years later. Trinchero Family Estates have been producing wines for over 60 years. Through the years, the Trinchero family and the company have expanded. Today, Trinchero represents over 27 brands in the United States and Australia. Winemaker […]

As we have said many times before, Washington State produces world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and delivers excellent bang-for-your-buck as compared to other top Cabernet regions around the world. Recently, we had what turned out to be a showdown between two Washington Cabernet Sauvignons in one of our double blind private tasting dinners. We had two wines […]

This month I decided to do something a little different with our challenging wine pairing. Rather than do the usual pairing with a meal, we decided to do a pairing with a dessert. German chocolate pie is something that I’ve used many times as the dessert with our tasting dinners. On most occasions, I have […]

The Rhone Valley in France is divided into two parts, appropriately referred to as the northern Rhone and the southern Rhone. While the northern Rhone produces mostly single varietal wines, the southern Rhone is known for producing blends. The most famous AOC in the southern Rhone is Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which is well known for its Grenache-based […]

After founding Sineann with Peter Rosback in 1994, winemaker David O’Reilly took his dream solo when he started Owen Roe Winery, named for Irish patriot Owen Roe O’Neil, in 1999. Located in St. Paul, Oregon, Owen Roe produces wines from both Oregon and Washington fruit. O’Reilly sources his fruit from small vineyard sites in Oregon […]

Beef brisket is usually associated with barbeque; however, at this time of year, cooking outside is not always feasible or enjoyable. Having been in the cattle business in Texas for many years, I’m especially partial to the Texas Beef Council whose website offers some great recipes. For this month’s challenging wine pairing, we had two […]

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

Peter Rosback is one of the most well-known and well-respected winemakers in the Pacific Northwest. Rosback got his start in winemaking in 1985 as a home winemaker experimenting with Pinot Noir. In 1986, he began making Old Vine Zinfandel from The Pines Vineyard. Rosback entered the wine business commercially in 1994 when he and David […]

Chateau Montelena Winery, located in the Calistoga District in California’s Napa Valley, propelled onto the world stage during the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris. At the competition in Paris, four white Burgundies were tasted against six California Chardonnays. The French judges awarded the top honor to Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay. It was a remarkable triumph […]

The holidays always get me in the mood for sparkling wine. On Friday evening, we decided to get a jumpstart on the holiday season by featuring Champagne in our 101st wine tasting dinner. Champagne is the most well-known sparkling wine in the world, and it can only be called Champagne if it is produced in […]