Red Wine

Chianti gets a bad rap. For so long, this dry Tuscan wine was associated with fiascos, the straw-covered bottles of yesteryear, the kind you’d find at a long-in-the-tooth Italian restaurant – it wasn’t the kind of wine that “serious” wine drinkers reached for.

Côte de Beaune is a mecca for white wine lovers. Located in the southern portion of the Côte d’Or, Côte de Beaune is home to some of the most beloved appellations including: Corton and Corton-Charlemagne, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet.

Finesse, elegance, power, and richness. Those are just a few words wine critics have used to describe the 2016 Quilceda Creek Vineyards, ‘Palengat’ Cabernet Sauvignon. In the world of wine, it’s no secret that Quilceda Creek wines are highly regarded; they’ve even been served to foreign dignitaries visiting the White

2013 Curly St. James, “Ostentatious Parlay”, Napa Valley Red Blend

The Curly St. James “Ostentatious Parlay”, Napa Valley Red Blend is about as boutique a wine as you can get. Less than 100 cases of this Napa Valley Bordeaux-blend are produced per vintage, which makes snagging a bottle a real

Wine lovers who try the 2007 Parador Cellars Reserva may be dismayed that just two barrels of this Spanish blend are produced every year. Tempranillo is native to Spain, but the grape is rare in California. What we love about the 2007 Parador Reserva is that Tempranillo has such a

The 2014 Joseph Swan Vineyards, “Bastoni Vineyards” Petite Sirah from Sonoma County is a wine that’s firing on all cylinders. Wine lovers know how easy it is to find great wine in Sonoma County, but finding a great wine that also delivers great value, and comes from a legendary producer,

We don’t give a lot of wines a near-perfect score, but wow. Just wow. This 2018 Nicolas Catena Zapata Bordeaux blend is pretty close to a perfect wine. We had this at dinner with friends and the entire table was blown away.

There’s not much malbec grown in California, and there’s even less malbec grown in Carmel Valley, but Jack Galante’s interpretation of this French grape via his 2018 Galante Vineyards’ Malbec, is right up there with the best of the best from Mendoza.

2018 was a good year for wine in Napa Valley, and this bottle of 2018 Gandona ‘Meia’ Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley, is a testament to that. The spring weather was superb, temperatures were in that sweet spot of not too hot and not too cold, and the grape clusters enjoyed

Silver Oak, along with a handful of other Napa Valley wineries is part of Napa Valley’s Cabernet Class of 1972. This milestone marks more than just fifty years in business, the Class of 72’ represents the highest concentration in consequential wineries ever to be created in a single year in

Right out of the gate, this Cabernet had a bit too much alcohol. Decanting the wine for about 30 minutes helped it open up, and the alcohol was less overpowering. After an hour in the decanter, the wine really started to reveal its flavor profile and structure.

Today, there is a trend toward drinking Gamay that is young, acidic, bright, fresh, and, perhaps the buzziest Gamay tasting note of all, ‘crunchy’. These are wines that were intended to be enjoyed young, and not cellared.