Tasting Report: Loire Valley Wines 2018
If you need a crowd-pleasing wine — generally a white wine — it never hurts to look to the Loire. These wines are often extremely affordable and usually quite approachable, even though stylistically they can be all over the map. (79 appellations can be found in this region, and 24 grape varieties are grown here…
Review: 2017 Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home Sauvignon Blanc and Rose of Pinot Noir
Two new spring-and-summer releases from California’s Rodney Strong Vineyards. 2017 Rodney Strong Vineyards Charlotte’s Home Sauvignon Blanc – Billed as a “Northern Sonoma” wine, I get a bit of a funk on the nose of this wine, a surprisingly meaty note leading to a body that sees bright apple studded heavily with pork fat. The…
Review: Glen Moray Elgin Classic Sherry Cask Finish
Glen Moray, one of Speyside’s stalwart whisky producers, has released a new expression to its permanent lineup, Glen Moray Classic Sherry Cask Finish. While this is a NAS whisky, some production details follow. Glen Moray is excited to introduce its newest addition to their Classic Range, the Glen Moray Classic Sherry Cask Finish. First aged in…
Recipes for Cinco de Mayo 2018
It is fiesta time, whether or not you have Mexican heritage in your genes. Few of us can bypass a day of good food and great cocktails—not to mention that traditional Mariachi music. You don’t even need to dress all fancy for the celebration. Just throw on your jeans, T-shirt, and sandals and scoot on up…
Review: Grandeza Orange Liqueur
Check out the single-serve bottle of Grandeza, a new orange liqueur. Why the little hook on the end of the mini bottle? Allow the Seattle-based company to explain: In 2014, Bernie Garcia, President and owner of Moctezuma’s Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar, conceived an idea for an upside-down orange liqueur sidecar bottle that could be hung…
Review: Zinfandel Wines of Day, 2018 Releases
I first encountered Day, a strictly Zinfandel producer centered in St. Helena, at this year’s ZAP festival. Enchanted by the wines, I then found out it was a single-varietal project from Ehren Jordan, winemaker (past and present) at Turley, Neyers, and Failla. After the show, Day sent us a six-pack of recent releases, all from various…
Touring and Wine Tasting in California’s Anderson Valley, 2018
The cool-climate wines of Northern California’s Anderson Valley are finding their audience. This temperate region, close to the ocean, is home to several well-known labels and farmers who practice sustainable and organic farming — even those who aren’t certified organic. They view responsible stewardship of the land as the baseline to making great wine. And…
Review: Mountjoy CBD Sparkling Water (2018)
Weed fever is running wild in California, which is why we have products like Sonoma County-based Mountjoy, a cannabis-infused sparkling water available in various flavors (with no alcohol). Launched late last year, Mountjoy Sparkling originated as an infusion for CBD (the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis), with each 16 oz. bottle containing 10mg of cannabidiol. Recently,…
