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LABOR OF LOVE – Wine Family Women of Piemonte
BOOK REVIEW BY CATHERINE FALLIS MASTER SOMMELIER Suzanne Hoffman first visited the northern Italian region of Piemonte with her second-generation Sicilian mother, Frances Castrogiovanni Manale, in 1999 while her husband was away in China. Upon arrival, they found it cold, wet, foggy and not very inviting. At table, however, the real pleasures of this region […]
ORGANIC OLD VINE GRENACHE PLAYS A STARRING ROLE AT CHATEAU LA NERTHE
Kick starting the week was a delicious and informative tasting with Chateau la Nerthe Export Manager Christophe Bristiel and Pasternak Wine Imports West Division Manager Ben Cuaresma at the San Francisco home of Planet Grape Wine Review co-panelist Deborah Parker Wong. Christophe explained that Chateau la Nerthe owns Prieure de Montezargues and Domaine de la […]
MARLBOROUGH MOVES BEYOND SAUVIGNON BLANC
By Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis Last week the Planet Grape Wine Review team attended a tasting of New Zealand wines at 1760 in San Francisco hosted by Chuck Hayward with Marcel Giesen and Giesen’s Chief Winemaker Nikolai St. George. The title was “Searching for the Crus of Marlborough” and through four flights of wines it was clear that […]
CARACCIOLI CELLARS A Rising Star from California’s Central Coast
November/December 2015 Glass of Bubbly Read the latest column by Catherine Fallis Master Sommelier Recently I stumbled upon a very fine, elegant and dry sparkling wine from a winery I hadn’t heard of before, Caraccioli Cellars in the Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey, California. I had been hired to saber a magnum of Champagne […]
WANNA GET RICH? MEET OUR PANELIST MASTER CICERONE RICH HIGGINS
Meet Planet Grape Guest Panelist/Contributor Rich Higgins, Master Cicerone and Brewmaster. Rich was the third person in the world to earn the Master Cicerone distinction, the highest of four levels of certification. He is also a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. His consulting practice includes Restaurant Beer Program Implementation, Beer Dinners […]
ZINFANDEL FANS ENJOY WINE AND MUSIC AT ZAP CELEBRATION IN SONOMA COUNTY
By Liz Thach, MW, Planet Grape An energized group of Zinfandel fans gathered at Trentadue Winery in Sonoma County this past Sunday for ZAP’s Simply Summer Celebration. ZAP, which stands for “Zinfandel Advocates & Producers” is one of the most active grape varietal organizations in the US, hosting many exciting events for members and guests […]
BEACH WINES AND EXOTIC BURGERS
Please indulge me and let me start out with a little story from my days as Wine Director/Sommelier at a famous Bay area restaurant. One day a new owner appeared, a French Chef who had his own Somm coming in a few months. I felt obligated to stay on, though it became more challenging by the […]
MONTEPULCIANO THE GRAPE VS MONTEPULCIANO THE REGION
By Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis With so many clonal names like Brunello, Sangioveto and Prugnolo Gentile, in Italy, and around the world, Sangiovese is still Sangiovese. The grape is the grape. So wouldn’t it make sense that across to the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo, Montepulciano the grape would be the grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano back […]
CELEBRATE SUMMER WITH MADAME LILY BOLLINGER
Rose is chic and easy when it comes to sunny summer entertaining, but to take it up a notch, add Champagne. After all, the ultra chic Madame Lily Bollinger famously said, “I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with […]
ROCK THE BOX
Summertime, and the living is easy. What better time than now to try a few wines in that portable package, the box? Today’s box wine is everything from organic French Chardonnay to premium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Pick up a few different boxes just for fun. Write down the name of the wine and price, […]
24 0F 72 PASS ADVANCED SOMMELIER EXAM IN PHOENIX
After a grueling three days of exams, including a timed blind tasting of six wines, a practical tableside service exam with multiple tables to attend to, a Business of the Sommelier written exam and spirits tasting and finally a theory exam, 24 of 72 candidates made it through to become Advanced Sommeliers last night at […]
THE MONTEFALCO CONSORTIUM ANNOUNCES IMPORTANT CHANGES IN WINEMAKING REGULATIONS
July 2016, Italian Ministry of Agriculture The 2016 harvest will bring with it new bottling and blending opportunities, as well as a wine with a brand new name Authenticity and territorial recognition have always been the key elements for the promotion of the distinct and unmistakable wines from Montefalco. An important turning point in the […]
MELVILLE – ALL NATURAL BEAUTIES IN SANTA BARBARA
by Fred Swan Kurt Amman, GM of Melville winery in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, leans down to show me their new under-vine weeder. Not every winery tour begins this way. But Melville is serious about organic growing and, especially, about avoiding stuff like Round-Up. Cover crop is necessary to do organic right in this […]
THE FATHER OF PROSECCO
Glass of Bubbly Issue 12 May June 2016 by Catherine Fallis Antonio Carpenè is often referred to as the father of Prosecco, founding Carpenè Malvolti, the first modern winery in the Veneto and the winery that created the style and character that is Prosecco today. He also founded the Istituto Conegliano, now the largest […]
MALBEC – MAKE MINE FRENCH
Cahors has a soft, supple style all its own. Planet Grape The SOMM Journal April/May 2016 Malbec is a rock star in our industry. That is if it is from Argentina. There, the transformation from shy, sensitive, earthy and awkward to rich, ripe, super clean and beautifully balanced was so spectacular the wine drinking world took […]
FROM TUSCANY TO SONOMA – MARTINELLI WINERY & VINEYARDS
The Martinelli family has been growing grapes in the Russian River Valley since the 1800’s, when Giuseppe Martinelli and Luisa Vellutini eloped and moved from Tuscany to Sonoma County. In the 1970s third-generation vintners Lee Martinelli Sr. and Carolyn Martinelli assumed leadership and began developing vineyards on family properties throughout Sonoma County. In 1992 they brought on […]
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
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
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
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 […]
IF ONLY ADDS MASTER SOMMELIER CATHERINE FALLIS AS LUMINARY
IfOnly, a San Francisco start up founded by Trevor Traina, is a marketplace for incredible experiences. From unique everyday offerings with local experts to once-in-a-lifetime connections with lauded luminaries, IfOnly provides access to a curated selection of extraordinary experiences that benefit worthy causes around the world. Members enjoy amazing experiences that help them do […]
Women for WineSense Winemaking Roundtable Hosts Sommelier and Buyer Relations Expert Catherine Fallis, April 20th at Chimney Rock
NAPA, CALIFORNIA: The Napa | Sonoma chapter of Women for WineSense’s (WWS) Winemaking & Viticultural roundtable welcomes Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, with a long industry history as a salesperson, sommelier, distributor, critic and supplier to discuss how winemakers and viticulturists can best relate to and communicate effectively with sommeliers and wine buyers. The roundtable […]
THE AGEABILITY OF NEW ZEALAND SAUVIGNON BLANC
I love former West End actor Oz Clarke’s description of New Zealand’s brash, pungent Sauvignon Blanc, an iconic style created by Cloudy Bay winemaker Kevin Judd. He calls it a“cloudburst, thrilling, shocking, lime zest, capsicum, love me or leave me” style of Sauvignon Blanc. Kevin Judd, who produced the winery’s first 25 vintages and who now […]
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS WINE ARTISANS
On February 23, 2016 the Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans presented a tasting of their appellation’s wines at Fort Mason in San Francisco. This trade tasting is one of the highlights of the year, with principles and winemakers pouring their rare Santa Lucia Highlands appellated Pinot Noirs alongside the more widely available Chardonnays and Syrahs. […]
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