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Rutherford Cabernets: A Preview of the 2004 Vintage
- By Dan Clarke
- Published 07/19/2007
- Features
Paul Wagner commented that there was a time when
Napa Valley Cabernet was defined by just two producers--Inglenook and
Beaulieu Vineyard (BV). The new executive director of the Rutherford
Dust Society was speaking last week at a tasting that is now ....
Revelations at Pres à Vi
- By Dan Clarke
- Published 07/19/2007
- Features
As a category, Vinho Verde wines are light in alcohol,
taste great with food and offer incredible value. What could be wrong with that?Well, not a thing, actually.
A few years ago....
Lake County Hosts Elevation of Wine Symposium
- By Dan Clarke
- Published 06/29/2007
- Features
Randle Johnson said that growing grapes
at high altitude is akin to being “next to God. And God’s not always fun.”
Speaking from a perspective more viticultural than theological, he explained that heavenly vineyards can produce intensely flavored grapes, but that farming them can be intensely challenging.Johnson was the keynote speaker at the initial Elevation of Wine Symposium sponsored by the Lake County Winegrape Commission on June 14th. He joined experts from around the world at Snow’s Lake Vineyard in ....
Cooking with the California Cajun
- By Dan Clarke
- Published 06/23/2007
- Features
Lanny Kilchrist has lived in California for quite a few years, but he’s still Cajun.
A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Kilchrist graduated from The University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). He settled in Sacramento after being exposed to the area while teaching at nearby Mather Air Force Base. The man knows food in the many definitions exhibited in his adopted state.He’s also a talented ...
Sustaining a Family Legacy in Dry Creek Valley
- By Dan Clarke
- Published 04/27/2007
- Features
Glenn Proctor leads two lives.
A grape and wine broker for Joseph W. Ciatti Company, he’s a polished spokesman for his industry. Proctor is comfortable giving a “Global Supply Update” to an audience of hundreds at a Unified Symposium presentation. He’s also at home-perhaps literally-tending head trained Zinfandel vines his great grandfather planted in 1904.
Those century-old plantings in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County are the basis for Puccioni Vineyards’ “Old Vine” Zinfandel. The first release-the 2003 vintage-totaled but 96 cases. Subsequent harvests have been good and production may double or even triple. Still, the fledging family winery is tiny by any standard.
Trends May Trump Tradition at American Ballparks
- By CWF Sources
- Published 04/12/2007
- Features
“Buy me some peanuts
and Cracker Jack…….”. A simple lyric from a simpler
time. While peanuts and Crackerjack are still ballpark staples the
times have changed and the choices are greater than ever. This was
evidenced last week at Raley Field as the...
Bushmill’s at Town Hall
- By Dan Clarke
- Published 03/26/2007
- Features
Arguments against going to San Francisco for lunch last week were powerful. Mostly they had to do with my being...
A Week of Zins
- By CWF Sources
- Published 02/15/2007
- Features
By Alastair Bland
If wine really is bottled poetry, as Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote, then San Francisco’s Fort Mason was worth...
And Now, For Something Somewhat Different
- By Dan Clarke
- Published 02/8/2007
- Features
Wine industry professionals head for Sacramento each winter. The annual Unified Symposium held at that city’s Convention Center draws...
Zin in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Thin on Vines, Rich in Flavors
- By CWF Sources
- Published 01/25/2007
- Features
The Santa Cruz Mountains would not bubble to the top of the heap when you say Zinfandel. In fact, most of the wineries who make Zin in this region source it elsewhere, but there are...