Recently, we had what turned out to be a California Pinot Noir showdown in one of our private tasting dinners pitting the 2007 Lionheart Wines Pinot Noir against the 2006 Cambria Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir. We liked both of these wines, but all four of us preferred the Lionheart. In fact, we thought it was […]

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 2006 Snoqualmie Syrah from the Columbia Valley of Washington State. Our […]

Recently, we had what turned out to be a Barossa Valley (Australia) Shiraz showdown in one of our private tasting dinners pitting the 2005 Schild Estate Shiraz against the 2005 Kilikanoon Testament Shiraz. We liked both of these wines but all four of us preferred the Schild. In fact, we thought it was outstanding, and […]

Chicken Fried Steak is a southern dish that is believed to have been adapted by Texans through the influence of German immigrants and their wiener schnitzel. An inexpensive cut of meat such as cube steak or tenderized round steak is dipped in an egg and milk mixture and dredged through flour before being cooked in […]

The majority of Washington State wineries are small, “Mom and Pop” operations, many operating out of garages, office parks, or other small facilities. Basel Cellars, located on the Old Milton Highway just south of downtown Walla Walla, Washington, is not one of those operations. In fact, Basel Cellars is one of the first wineries that […]

During this time of year when everyone is shopping and getting excited about the new “things” they’ll be getting for Christmas, I think that it is also important to spend time thinking about traditions and some of our favorite things from times past. When it comes to wine, two of our old favorites are the […]

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 2007 Bogle Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley in California. […]

Earlier this year, we featured Washington Syrah from the 2005 vintage in one of our monthly wine tasting dinners. As I’ve mentioned previously, many consider the 2005 vintage to be one of the best in the history of Washington State. And I personally believe that the 2007 vintage may ultimately be considered the best ever […]

Oftentimes, wineries in the United States produce blends from their leftovers. They put their best grapes into their varietal wines and then produce a blend from the grapes that don’t quite make the cut. There are some wineries, however, who strive to produce Bordeaux-style blends using the very best grapes that they can get. Two […]

For those of you who are not familiar with a vertical tasting, it is a tasting in which you taste different vintages of the same wine from the same winery. We were first “wow”-ed by Fielding Hills in the summer of 2008. Since then, we have visited the winery, tasted all of their new releases, […]