A Free Wine Encyclopedia!We have had some really fun wines the past few months, wines that lend themselves well to food. Many sales personnel use the term “this is a food wine” when trying to cover up some unusual characteristic. Most of them probably don’t understand what a “food wine” really is. It is much more than a… read more »
As in the rest of the wine making world, it seems each region in California takes on its own personality. Certain grapes tend to fair better in certain regions. The Mayacamas mountains for its big Cabernets, the central coast for its rich Pinot noir, the Carneros district for its luscious Chardonnay and Amador County for… read more »
Chris Bogle is the fifth generation of Bogies to farm the fertile Sacramento River Delta region of northern California. In 1968, Chris helped his father, Warren, plant their first vineyard. Then, in 1973, they formed Bogle Vineyards. With nearly 650 acres under vine, the winery is virtually self sufficient in fruit. In some cases, however,… read more »
Cline Cellars is owned by a family whose name is a household word. About a century ago, six brothers pooled their resources to put the eldest one through college, a cultural tradition in Italy. The brothers immigrated to California. They took odd jobs, in the mines, for the railroads, even as farm laborers picking fruit… read more »
The Benziger family moved to Glen Ellen California in 1980 from White Plains, New York to set up a boutique winery. The rest is truly California wine making history. The 1981 crush came before construction of the winery was finished. There was no electricity. There were no wine storage tanks. The crush went on through… read more »
Although established in 1983, the Winterbrook Winery’s success with Zinfandel can be traced back to 1890 when the more than 100 wineries dotting the Amador County landscape specialized in Zinfandel production. The winery is located in the fertile Jackson Valley of the Sierra Nevada Foothills approximately fifty miles southeast of Sacramento. A three man partnership… read more »
A mission Padre was the first to plant grapevines in Baja California; on the site of the first lower California mission circa 1697. But viticulture was known to Mexico far earlier than that. In 1524 the Mexican conqueror Cortez decreed that all Spaniards holding land grants in Mexico had to plant annually, for five years,… read more »
A mission Padre was the first to plant grapevines in Baja California; on the site of the first lower California mission circa 1697. But viticulture was known to Mexico far earlier than that. In 1524 the Mexican conqueror Cortez decreed that all Spaniards holding land grants in Mexico had to plant annually, for five years,… read more »
One day in 1906, a nineteen-year-old Enology student from the University of Genoa got a bit of advice from his college professor that would change his Life, “If you want to make wine,” he said, “you’d better go back to California. . .experiment by yourself and study.” His name was Louis M. Martini. The story… read more »
This zinfandel comes from a zinfandel specialist. He is one of very few California winemakers who prefer to produce only one kind of wine. In the case of Harold Duffer, his love is zinfandel. But he has more loves than that: he loves his winery in Plymouth, California enough to commute 487 miles, about twice… read more »