Tasting Report: Wines of Howell Mountain 2013
This tasting of Cabernet-centric Howell Mountain wines is always a highlight of the wine event season, and this rundown of a few dozen wineries in the region was no disappointment. We’ve covered the event for several years now, and this year’s tasting of primarily 2009 and 2010 Cabs, plus a smattering of library wines, offered…
Julep Recipe Variations for Derby Day
For one Saturday afternoon in May, the world looks away from other sporting events and focuses its eye on the commonwealth of Kentucky for a time-honored tradition: the Kentucky Derby. The 139th running of the roses will bring another packed Churchill Downs full of loud hats and high hopes that their lucky number will come…
Review: Captive Spirits Big Gin
Seattle-based Captive Spirits makes one product and one product alone: gin. Big Gin, actually. Crafted in the London Dry style 100 gallons at a time and is imbued with nine botanicals: juniper, coriander, orange peel, grains of paradise, angelica, cassia, cardamon, orris root, and Tasmanian pepper berry. Altogether it’s a fairly traditional botanical bill, with…
Review: Wines of Gary Farrell, 2010 Vintage
Gary Farrell is based on Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, but it makes wines with fruit from all over California. Russian River, however, remains the focus. The 2010 bottlings are now hitting the market. We tasted through a solid sampling of five of them. Thoughts follow. 2010 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Russian River Valley Westside Farms –…
Tasting Report: 2013 Berkeley Wine Festival
Now in its fourth year, the Berkeley Wine Festival features a series of weekly dinners hosted by California winemakers. The dinners and the big kickoff takes place at Berkeley’s iconic Claremont Hotel, which I attended. Packed with attendees, the opening night featured tastings of over 180 wines, plus a smattering of foodstuffs prepared by Claremont…
Review: Wines of Portugal’s Alentejo Region
The Portuguese don’t sit around sipping Vintage Port all day. For everyday drinking, they turn to some simple and very affordable wines. Increasingly, these wines have been coming to the U.S., letting us discover new grapes, like Antao Vaz, and new regions, like Alentejo, where these three wines hail from. Alentejo covers most of the…
Review: 2007 Banfi Brunello and 2009 Sartori Amarone
2007 marks the first year that Banfi’s new Horizon Winery got up and running, featuring new a fermenting system that uses oak cores with stainless steel caps to produce wine. The newly released Brunello, the first wine to come out of this winery, is reviewed below, along with a hot new Amarone from Sartori, one…
Review: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (2013)
Elijah Craig is a Bourbon brand on the rise, and its latest release is another knockout, this time bottled at cask strength. A whopping 12 years old (the age statement is in the text on the back label of the bottle), Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is an amazing whiskey that should (and will) be sought…
