Dorianne and I did our annual visit to California’s Central Coast Wine Regions this past week. In this post, I will cover the three wineries we visited in the Paso Robles area (LINK TO PRIOR POSTS ON PASO). In another post, I will cover two days in the Santa Rita Hills/Lompoc area. As we always … Continue reading A VISIT TO PASO ROBLES – THREE WINERIES
Earlier this week, Dorianne and I spent a couple of days in the California Central Coast Wine Country with friends. We stayed at the KonTiki Inn, a mid-20th Century gem in Pismo Beach. Don’t try to reserve a room at the KonTiki online – you can’t. They have a website (LINK), but you can’t reserve … Continue reading A RETURN VISIT TO PASO ROBLES
As I noted in my last post (LINK), Dorianne and I went to Paso Robles along California’s Central Coast region for three nights and two days of wine tasting with her sister and brother-in-law, Debby and Mike. Our daughter, Grace, joined us on the first day of wine tasting, but the four of us were … Continue reading PASO ROBLES TRIP, PART 2.TABLAS CREEK VINEYARD AND CALCAREOUS WINERY
Dorianne and I did a post-Christmas trip to Paso Robles this week. We were accompanied by her sister Debby and Debby’s husband, Mike, who live in Oklahoma, but love wine very much. The trip was really a good experience, so I will cover it in two posts. Paso Robles has become the premier region of … Continue reading PASO ROBLES TRIP, PART 1. EBERLE, TOBIN JAMES & CASS WINERIES
The grand finale of the Garagistè Festival is the Grand Tasting, featuring around 70 wine makers who produce 1500 cases or less of their wine in a year. The festival, with newer branches in Solvang and Los Angeles each year, is a great opportunity for these small producers to become known. This year’s Grand Tasting was held at the Paso Robles Fairgounds … Continue reading THE GRAND TASTING AT THE GARAGISTÉ FESTIVAL IN PASO ROBLES
Each year at the Garagistè Festival, there are two seminars held as part of the VIP package for the Saturday events. This year’s seminars were “Exploring the Aroma Wheel” with Madeline Puckette of WineFolly.com (LINK) and “Techniques of the Garagistè: The Secret of Stems,” with Mikael Sigouin, Ryan Pease, and Stewart McLennan. “Exploring the Aroma … Continue reading WINE SEMINARS AT 2015 GARAGISTÉ FESTIVAL IN PASO ROBLES
The Garagistè Festival (LINK), for the uninitiated, is a gathering that promotes and celebrates small production winemakers from Paso Robles and elsewhere in California. These are folks who produce under 1500 cases per year. Some are new and plan to grow into the future Mondavis or Kendall-Jacksons of the world; others are doing it as … Continue reading WINEMAKERS’ MIXER AT THE 2015 GARAGISTÉ FEST IN PASO ROBLES.
A good video to review, or to see for the first time, ROBERT PARKER’S BITCH looks at the issue of the power of wine critics to influence how wine is made, marketed, and sold. This from the well-worth-your-time SOIF Blog (LINK) speaks to the video: Yes, it is 26 minutes long and very few of … Continue reading ROBERT PARKER’S BITCH – REVISITING THE ARGUMENT ABOUT WINE CRITICS AND POINT SYSTEMS
I recently spent a couple of days in the Santa Rita Hills (LINK to Prior Posts), located north of the city of Santa Barbara and west of the cities of Santa Ynez and Los Olivos in Santa Barbara County. The unique geography and geology of the Santa Rita Hills AVA (the mountains and valleys run … Continue reading SANTA RITA HILLS AVA – BURGUNDY ON THE CENTRAL COAST
This has been a very unique year for me in terms of wine exploration and enjoyment. After traveling full time between North America and Europe for 2 ½ years, Dorianne and I have settled in Lyon, France. Although we continue to travel for various reasons (I’m writing this in Southern California), we have been exploring … Continue reading MY YEAR IN WINE – 2017
Jim Lockard On Wine 