Still Wines
BORDEAUX BY THE BAY – INSPIRED REDS FROM A LITTLE PACIFIC ISLE
Planet Grape The SOMM Journal December January 2015/2016 While the Chinese have an unquenchable thirst for blue chip wines, especially Bordeaux – they are the number one buyer of the 42% exported share of its annual production of 685 million bottles – they also purchase a lot of wine from Gimblett Gravels, a warm rocky area […]
THE MONK’S ELIXIR – Unique Sagrantino DOCG is Ripe for Discovery
Planet Grape The SOMM Journal October November 2015 While tourists flock to artistic, medieval Perugia and Assisi, landlocked Umbria’s bucolic green rolling hills provide idyllic growing conditions for spicy olives, lentils, wheat and spelt, and the tartufo nero (black truffle) di Norcia. Black pigs roam the verdant hills and lush forests, along with deer, sheep and cows. […]
PINOT FEST 2015 – A PUBLIC TASTING OF SEXY WINE
Billed as “The Great Big Bacchanalia,” Pinot Fest is one of the most anticipated wine tasting events of the year. It is rare to have winemakers and winery principles from some of the top names in California Pinot Noir in the same room (technically 3 rooms, but still). Fifty-eight wineries were present. Organized by Pat […]
LODI NATIVE – PURITY AND VINEYARD EXPRESSION PUT LODI ON THE MAP
Lodi is known for many things, high quality wine not amongst them. Things are changing, though, as a group of local winemakers inspired by sommelier/writer Randy Caparoso have looked to their cherished old vine Zinfandel vineyards, many over 100 years old, to produce pure, unadulterated wines which showcase the personality of the land and grape plant vs. winemaker style and […]
NATIONAL HUGEL DAY – ALSACE FAMILY WINES FOR THANKSGIVING
This Saturday, November 14th, is National Hugel Day, self-proclaimed by this traditional Alsatian wine family to shed light on their new releases, a dry white blend, a dry Riesling, dry Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer, all of which are ideal for the Thanksgiving table. Planet Grape Wine Review Recommends: APPETIZERS 2014 Hugel Gentil Alsace $15 PG […]
SUNNY SUD DE FRANCE
Planet Grape The SOMM Journal AUGUST SEPTEMBER 2015 It is time to take a look beyond the quaffable Vin de Pays wines of sunny Sud de France. Languedoc Roussillon is a treasure trove of clean, fruit-forward, food-friendly, value-priced wines to pour and to offer by the bottle well below $100. A common thread of […]
BORDEAUX UNDER ONE ROOF
Bordeaux and Port are the most significant benchmark wine regions of the world, both created by a thirsty U.K. market and waterways providing access to that market. While Port consumption remains steady, Bordeaux is enjoying another Golden Era, the first since Robert Parker “discovered” the stunning 1982 vintage. Over 685 million bottles of Bordeaux wines are sold annually, […]
THE FATHER OF MALBEC – ARGENTINA’S JOSE “PEPE” GALANTE
Bodegas Salentein honored winemaker Jose “Pepe” Galante at a private luncheon in the home of Deborah Parker Wong last week here in San Francisco. Galante was the long-time winemaker at Catena Zapata, one of the country’s other big names in wine, and has only just recently joined Bodegas Salentein, completing the 40th harvest of his life […]
SICILIA – THE COOKING OF CASA PLANETA
SPQR restaurant on Fillmore Street in San Francisco was the perfect setting for a luncheon of Sicilian food and wines led by the charming and down to earth Alessio Planeta, manager and owner with his sister Francesca and his brother Santi of the family company Planeta. Chef Matthew Accarrino and Sommelier and Italian wine expert Shelley Lindgren are the […]
ST. TROPEZ SUMMER SIPPER – CHATEAU SAINT-MAUR
The French Riviera is equally as popular with jetsetters and the ultra wealthy as it is with pale-skinned Northern Europeans seeking the warmth and pleasures of sun and sea. One thing they have in common, though, is a thirst for the local Rose wine. Chateau Saint-Maur, nestled in the mountains about six miles away from […]
DRY CREEK VINEYARD LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE NEW CORK CONCEPT
Iconic and well-known Dry Creek Vineyard of Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, has released their 2013 Old Vine Zinfandel with a new packaging twist – a label harking back to steamship travel in honor of the age of the vines (95-110 years old), and a cork from the future. According to winery President Kim Stare Wallace, […]
DISCOVERY TO TABLE WITH CHANTICLEER WINES
By Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, aka grape goddess®* CHANTICLEER wines are subtle, understated, compatible with food & capable of aging. You’ve discovered a great wine, visited the winery, scored a spot on the mailing list, and the wines are now in your hands, ready to deliver pleasure to you and your guests. […]
NEW ZEALAND WINE MASTERCLASS WITH OZ CLARKE
Britain’s most popular wine writer, irreverent Irishman Oz Clarke, led a group of San Francisco area writers and buyers including Matt Kramer, Dan Berger, Leslie Sbrocco, Richard Jennings, Rebecca Chapa, Wilfred Wong and more through an entertaining tasting of New Zealand wines this past January. Oz Clarke, one of my favorites for his down-to-earth quotes, like “Gewurztraminer […]
VICTORY FOR THE GODFATHER OF PASO ROBLES – GARY EBERLE
Former Penn State Linebacker Gary Eberle, fondly and accurately referred to as the Godfather of Paso Robles for his contributions to the wine industry there as well as his fundraising efforts on behalf of many local causes, youths in particular, is having a very, very good week. Sixteen months ago, he and his wife Marcy […]
COL D’ORCIA – AN ORGANIC ISLAND IN MONTALCINO
Elegant, regal, and silver haired Count Francesco Marone Cinzano, owner of Col d’Orcia in Montalcino, Tuscany, greeted a small group of San Francisco area wine experts, reviewers, sommeliers and press as we sat down in Sociale’s private dining room last Thursday. Sociale is a gem of an Italian bistro hidden down a narrow alleyway in […]
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most ubiquitous red variety in the world. Bordeaux is its heartland, but upstarts in Napa Valley, California, Tuscany and South Australia are staking a claim. As a point of reference, Cabernet Sauvignon is the offspring of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. The patriarch of Bordeaux, even though it is outplanted by […]
Aglianico
Aglianico derives from Hellenic, or Ellenico, the Italian word for Greek, indicating that the centuries-old varietal was introduced by the Greeks who settled in Southern Italy as early as 700 B.C. It was blended into the historical Falernum, the most requested wine in the world at that time. Though also cultivated in Puglia, Molise, and […]
Lake County’s Luscious Reds
Trying to compete with Napa Cab is a common problem for those producing wines in their shadow. Sonoma was the first to experience this, but over time it has successfully distilled a singular message about “coastal” and “cool” and established itself first and foremost as an ideal place for cool-climate loving Pinot Noir and […]
