• A Really Reluctant Blog Posting about R.A. Harrison Family Cellars

    Updated: 2010-08-31 14:30:00
    [Image of Nobility was borrowed from the R.A. Harrison Family Cellars Website.] Why am I reluctant? Not because there’s anything wrong with Roger Harrison’s effort as a winemaker; but, rather, because there’s everything right about it… To write his story would mean that I’d have to open his bottle of nectar; and, I’m not one [...]

  • Wine Dinner in New York City at The Modern Sets a City Standard for Opulence

    Updated: 2010-08-30 14:30:39
    Staging “the” Perfect Meeting with Client and Media If you’re just getting into PR, a perfect setting is really important when you’re planning a meeting. This is my most recent example. I just traveled to New York City to discuss Finisterra and Alente wines (from the Alentejo region of Portugal) with an important group of [...]

  • Should a California critic taste everything, or just from certain areas?

    Updated: 2010-08-30 08:10:14
    I think about my job of wine tasting and reviewing a lot. One aspect of it that I turn over in my mind is, Would my take on wines change if I reviewed only wines from prime coastal areas? Now, as you know, I taste everything that’s sent to me, whether it’s from the Central [...]

  • Suckling, ‘07 Napa Cabs, 2010 vintage, Top 10 Wines of the Week

    Updated: 2010-08-27 15:40:50
    Former Wine Spectator critic James Suckling, who’s been all over Facebook lately (Twitter, too; what’s up with that?), was tasting in Napa, and wrote that he wasn’t sure that 2007 is the “vintage of the century” for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. That stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest on his FB page! Even I [...]

  • How do wine pros make removing the capsule look so darn easy?

    Updated: 2010-08-27 14:30:59
    [What's to follow is inspired by Steve Heimoff, who's been having a bit of fiction fun lately.] How do wine pros make removing the capsule look so darn easy? It’s so simple. In fact, it’s really so easy that let’s play pretend for a moment. You’re Lester, the court jester. King Steven, your king, is [...]

  • Thoughts on an Obscure AVA ~ Suisun Valley’s Emergence

    Updated: 2010-08-26 14:30:14
    I’m currently writing about an obscure American Viticultural Area, called Suisun Valley. Many years ago, Rick Wood (who lives in Fairfield, California) had a dream to preserve some of Solano Country’s most rustic and precious farmland. That bucolic region is called Suisun Valley. Rick’s dream to save this area for generations to come would provide [...]

  • Vintners: Sell wine while you drive!

    Updated: 2010-08-25 15:54:06
    Most wineries these days are doing their best to increase direct sales to consumers. With the recession, they’re seeing a much more sluggish market than usual. Stores and restaurants aren’t selling as much, there are fewer visitors to the tasting room, and such as there are do not want to spend any more than they [...]

  • Ten Wine Marketing Take-Aways From Times²

    Updated: 2010-08-25 14:30:08
    Having just returned from meeting my Alentejo client Delfim Costa, and our new importer Adele Capela (Value Vines) in New York City, my Times Square experience is still swimming around inside of my head. First of all, the last time I was in Time Square experiencing it was in the 1980s.  Jose and I traveled [...]

  • Vinita Winery Tenth Birthday September 11

    Updated: 2010-08-22 18:22:04
    : Oklahoma Wine News Statewide Oklahoma wine industry news and vineyard events . Never miss a local wine tasting event . Our wine blog includes an online archive of winery news , festival dates , state wine law news , grape growing tips , and a full list of Okahoma winery . websites Visit our Oklahoma Winery 8 22 2010 Vinita Winery Tenth Birthday September 11 Summerside Winery's 10th Birthday Celebration Saturday September 11th from 11am to 4pm Come join the merriment of music , door prizes , tours , gift shop , wine tasting two new releases meet the wine makers and staff , and of course enjoy Summerside Winery Blackberry Wine Birthday Cake . Plus , the Bistro will be open . Free Wine 101 Class 5-6 for the first 10 people who sign . up Summerside Vineyards Winery 441251 E . Historic Route

  • Drumright Oklahoma Grape Harvest Event

    Updated: 2010-08-22 18:15:42
    : Oklahoma Wine News Statewide Oklahoma wine industry news and vineyard events . Never miss a local wine tasting event . Our wine blog includes an online archive of winery news , festival dates , state wine law news , grape growing tips , and a full list of Okahoma winery . websites Visit our Oklahoma Winery 8 22 2010 Drumright Oklahoma Grape Harvest Event 6th Annual Walk in the Clouds Harvest Brunch September 11, 2010 at Tidal School . Winery Saturday September 11th from 9am until . Noon Those attending the Walk in the Clouds Harvest Brunch can look forward : to Grape Harvest Demonstration One Hour Harvest of the Estate Cabernet Franc , then Watch the Crush Hearty Full Breakfast Brunch Live Music by Max and the Thunderbirds Free Wine Tasting of Over a Dozen Wines Price 19.95 per person

  • *** Chez Ray Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004

    Updated: 2010-08-12 01:29:00
    This is made from frozen Napa grapes obtained from Brehm Vineyards, fermented in BDX yeast, and pressed at dryness.Original Review, August, 2010, five years from vintage date: In the glass, deep burgundy, opaque in the middle. Aromas are bold, tangy, high-pitched, alcohol-tinged, black fruit.On the palate, intense, perfumed, tannin-packed extract of ripe plum skins. Three stars. WAY too young to fully judge. Let's watch it in five years or so.

  • Alice Feiring on Wine

    Updated: 2010-08-10 20:51:17
    Alice Feiring should be no stranger to those who follow the personalities in the world of wine. An unapologetic Francophile and something of a firebrand, Alice considers herself “the leading Natural Wine Advocate in this country,” which puts her in direct conflict with influential wine critic Robert Parker, and ...

  • Oklahoma Wine Festival Fun on September 18

    Updated: 2010-08-10 18:37:06
    : Oklahoma Wine News Statewide Oklahoma wine industry news and vineyard events . Never miss a local wine tasting event . Our wine blog includes an online archive of winery news , festival dates , state wine law news , grape growing tips , and a full list of Okahoma winery . websites Visit our Oklahoma Winery 8 10 2010 Oklahoma Wine Festival Fun on September 18 Two great Oklahoma wine tasting events in September of 2010 Nuyaka Creek Winery will hold our 10th Annual Oklahoma Wine Festival on September 18, 2010 from Noon until 7pm . Admission is FREE and we are giving away prizes every hour , so if you attend the 2010 winefest party you might go home with the gifts Tidal School Vineyard will harvest their Oklahoma wine grapes on two Saturdays in 2010. The Drumright , Oklahoma crush events

  • **** Chez Ray Pinot / Zin (Zinfandel), Valley Oaks Vineyard, Lodi, CA, 2003

    Updated: 2010-08-05 03:12:00
    This is a combination of pinot noir and zinfandel from 2003 vintage Lodi grapes, fermented with Pasteur Red yeast and pressed at dryness.In the glass, this is light to medium red. Served at room temperature, aromas are a bright and blooming red raspberry fruit.The palate is sweet, rich and layered, showing ripe, ripe red currant, elements of sweet pepper and ash, and a lively - but not overpowering - acidity. Wonderful highs and lows, easy sweetness and still some drama. Four stars. Terrific for Lodi grapes.

  • *** Chez Ray Summer White 2010 - Homemade Wine Tasting & Review

    Updated: 2010-08-04 00:24:00
    : skip to main skip to sidebar Chez Ray Winemaking Trials , tribulations and . tips Join WSJwine Club from the Wall Street Journal and get 12 Reds 70 plus shipping save 120 Tuesday , August 03, 2010 Chez Ray Summer White 2010 Homemade Wine Tasting Review Chez Ray Summer White 2010 is a blend of two just-fermented wines made from frozen grapes from Brehm Vineyards the 328-06 2006 Columbia Gorge WA Gewurztraminer and the 335-06 2006 White Salmon Vineyard WA Chardonnay . nbsp Both were fermented cool at about 60 degrees fahrenheit using Cote des Blancs yeast The blend is 50 50, with 3 teaspoons sugar per 750 ml bottle . nbsp Color is faint yellow with the merest of green hint . nbsp The nose is sweet hay . nbsp Served cool , this shows a first hit of tangy sweetness on the mid-palate . nbsp

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