California Wines

In 1912, Ernest Wente brought chardonnay cuttings from the University of Montpellier viticultural nursery in France to California. He was the first, and any winemaker interested in planting this Burgundian varietal eagerly made the journey to ...  

Robert Mondavi Winery and Winetasting.com present the 24th Annual Napa Valley Academy Awards Telecast Viewing Party on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m. at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville.. The event raises money to benefit the HIV/AIDS and ...  

State Store Pick of the Week Brazin "Old Vine" Zinfandel Lodi, Calif. $14.99* PLCB Item No. 3219 Vines are just like people: They may get less vigorous as they grow older, but they get better at what they do. For winemakers, "old vines" yield much smaller quantities of grapes than young ones, but the grapes are more flavorful. This complex  

One of my unbroken refrains here at Vinography has to do with the value of large public wine tastings as opportunities to educate the palate. There's just nothing like the chance to taste a lot of wines side by side to teach you a thing or two -- about what you like and what you don't, as well as the character of a grape, a region, or a vintage. Tastings held by regional wine marketing organizations continue to proliferate in the San...  

This week's buy: Twenty Bench 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. Looking for an elegant cabernet sauvignon that doesn't break the bank? Here it is, from the Napa Valley in California. The name Twenty Bench signifies the 20 tons of fruit that vineyard ...  

What white wine goes well with a wide range of foods, from salads and vegetable dishes ... gun flint quality that led locals to add to the place name the French word for smoke, calling it Pouilly Fume. In the late-1960s, when his Sauvignon Blanc wasn ...  

Maragas Winery, located north of Terrebonne, won six medals at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, held last month in Cloverdale, Calif.“In the past two years of competing, we entered only a few of our wines,” the winery’s owner, Doug Maragas, said in a news release. “This year we went for the gusto and submitted all of our current releases, and they all medaled.”  

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vintners' Alliance, a marketing technology and database provider for super premium wineries, announced that wineries utilizing its Intent Conversion service received, on average, a 12.50% increase ...  

If my math is correct, this year marks the silver anniversary of Jim and Suzy Gullett's entry into the wine trade. In 1987, in Amador County's Shenandoah Valley, where three years earlier they'd bought 21 acres planted in part to walnut trees, the Gulletts put down about an acre of sangiovese wine grapes.  

The wines are made using a blend of six different Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. While each vintage was delicious, the 2003 vintage was a standout. Wine tasters compared notes with each other on their favorite wines in the vertical tasting. Owner and winemaker ...  

In fact, this delightful blend of Old World charm and modern winemaking skill was recently awarded Best Value Wine of the Year by Neal Martin of Robert Parker in his Memorable Wines of 2011! “A blend of 65% Cabernet and 35% Merlot, the marvelous 2010 ...  

Paso Robles wine country tours are a staple activity when visiting California vineyards. Local wineries are world-famous for their products, but did you know that when California wine tours take place off the beaten path, amazing attractions await?Contributor: Sylvia CochranPublished: Feb 10, 2012  

Based on what you read about in the paper, magazines, etc, you'd think that pretty much the only wines that California produces are Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Oh yeah, there's Syrah, but who buys that anymore? California actually produces many fantastic wines that aren't made from these dominant grape varieties, but most people don't drink them. At least not often. And some people haven't even heard of...  

Her wines at Soda Rock Winery and Wilson Winery were recognized in various ... Sauvignon categories and solidifying the fact that this woman is an exceptional wine maker. A rising star in Sonoma County winemaking since the moment that her initial release ...  

Constantia Glen, the magnificently appointed boutique wine estate on the upper reaches of the Constantiaberg, offers some of the finest wine tasting experiences in the winelands just 20 minutes from the Cape Town city centre.