Thursday, May 28, 2015

Sip This: St. Francis Merlot

St. Francis Reserve Merlot 2012: The abundant success of the 2012 vintage led St. Francis, a Sonoma winery since 1971, to decide to develop a Reserve Tier to be offered only to restaurants for their wine lists. Along with a zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon comes this lovely merlot, which corrects all the bashing that this Bordeaux varietal has received the past couple decades.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Indy's site.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

William Price's Wines Are Right

It's that kind of California story. Man does well in business, co-founding his own private equity firm in the 1990s. Eventually his company gets interested in wineries: first Beringer, then Chateau St. Jean. Turns out the man even has a great origin story. (His dad, who was born in France, treated him to wine cut with water when he was a kid.) He decides to move into the wine business full-time, buying ownership interest in acclaimed Kistler, and nearly sacred Sonoma vineyards like Durrell and Gap's Crown.

Want to read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Sip This: Two Lands Shiraz

Two Lands Shiraz 2013: Australian Shiraz has often been thought of as the Jayne Mansfield of wines—perhaps a bit much too much. So along comes this collaboration between Jacob’s Creek, Australia’s largest wine brand, and California’s Ehren Jordan, formerly the winemaker at Turley, where he made big zins, but now the owner of Failla, where he makes exquisitely balanced Pinot Noir, among other varietals.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Making Angelica Wine the Old Padre Way at Gypsy Canyon

Buy some land, and anything can happen. Your property could turn out to be what will become one of the most noted American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in California for growing pinot noir. That happened for Deborah Hall and her now-deceased husband William after buying what became Gypsy Canyon in 1994, seven years before it was declared part of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Santa Barbara's pinot hot spot. They also discovered their property included an overgrown vineyard amidst the brush and dry-farmed lima beans -- vines from 1887.

Want to read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Writing for the Clampdown

Chryss and I both have the honor to be in a new anthology Clash by Night, poets responding to The Clash's London Calling. And April Linder kindly wrote about the anthology on her blog, and featured poems from both of us.

Thanks, April!

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Sip This: Hiro Sake

Hiro Blue (Junmai Ginjo) Sake: It’s little surprise that to market sake in the U.S., companies pull out all the recent tropes from the brewing world – hand crafted, traditional yet forward looking.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Lumen Lights the Wine Way

Despite what a great story it would make, Lumen Wines did not come about when Will Henry flashed his surfer's six-pack abs at Lane Tanner. "Quite honestly, he wasn't a shirt-taker-offer until later in the relationship," Tanner admits. But then she jokes, "But one day I said to him, 'That work you're doing with the barrels looks like it's really hot, maybe you should take your shirt off.' Once he did, you couldn't get him to keep it on."

Want to read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Lessons from the Santa Barbara Vintners Festival

Of course wine festivals are mostly about marketing, but that doesn't mean attendees can't learn a bunch amidst the revelry. That was clear at the recent Santa Barbara Vintners Food Festival and Grand Tasting held in Buellton on April 25. First, labeling it partially as a food festival wasn't merely a way to get the emphasis off alcohol consumption, in a hope to make a less mad MADD. It was also deliciously surprising to have good eats on hand. To offset the over 110 wineries pouring, there were 38 food purveyors of all sorts, including tasty start-up Cultured and Saucy sharing its probiotic dips and sauces, alongside Santa Ynez Valley stalwarts like the Red Barn, Hitching Post II, and the Ballard Inn & Restaurant.

Want to read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.