Archive for May, 2016

WRATH – A DAILY WALL OF FOG & WIND ROARS INTO SALINAS VALLEY

WRATH – A DAILY WALL OF FOG & WIND ROARS INTO SALINAS VALLEY

By Fred Swan Wrath’s San Saba estate vineyard is not in the Santa Lucia Highlands. It’s darned close though. The vineyard is located at the junction of Foothill Road and River Road, but on the wrong side of Foothill to be within the AVA. The boundary isn’t arbitrary in this case. There is a difference […]

INMAN FAMILY WINES GO NATURAL

INMAN FAMILY WINES GO NATURAL

  Often referred to as “the barometer of Russian River Valley” as she is one of the earliest to harvest her grapes, owner and winemaker Kathleen Inman is quietly making natural wines that feel alive on the palate. This self-proclaimed “grape groper” picks by taste and feel, not by brix, the accumulation of sugar in […]

STEVEN SPURRIER CELEBRATES 4OTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS IN SAN FRANCISCO

STEVEN SPURRIER CELEBRATES 4OTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS IN SAN FRANCISCO

By Fred Swan In 1976, a competitive tasting of French and American wines was held in France. Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant based in Paris created the event, now known as The Judgement of Paris, to highlight progress made with French grape varieties in the United States. To everyone’s great surprise, the French judges […]

BIEN NACIDO VINEYARDS – SANTA BARBARA’S GRAND CRU

BIEN NACIDO VINEYARDS – SANTA BARBARA’S GRAND CRU

By Fred Swan In Burgundy, vineyards which have proved to be the very best over an extended period of time are designated Grand Cru. They also have distinct personalities, making it possible for experts to identify their wines when tasting blind. The United States doesn’t have any official designation of quality for vineyards. If we […]