IT’S TIME FOR WINE
by
Monty and Sara Preiser
November 19, 2024
Hartwell Estate and Beringer Vineyards
Today we will feature two wineries that not only offer wines of note, but provide a wonderful experience to go along with the tasting. Both the experiences are vastly different (variety being the true spice of life), but in their own way quite special.
Hartwell Estate
IT’S TIME FOR WINE
by
Monty and Sara Preiser
November 15, 2024
Kelleher Wine, Sonoma Auction Weekend, & Food Trucks:
Could One Have a Better Summer?
Kelleher’s Initial Sauvignon Blanc is Impressive
Someday we are going to write a column on how the style of a wine oddly reflects the style of its owners or winemakers (kind of like so many dog owners and their dogs). For today, however, let us talk about and recommend just one wine - the 2009 Kelleher “Block 21” Sauvignon Blanc ($28 - wow).
IT’S TIME FOR WINE
by
Monty and Sara Preiser
November 9, 2024
Monsieur Boisset is Here to Stay
IT’S TIME FOR WINE
by
Monty and Sara Preiser
November 4, 2024
2010 Harvest with Tallulah: A Journal
Charter Oak:
When a winery is fun and has some unique touches, it is often worth spending some time there. When the wines are top notch in addition, the “often” becomes “always.” Charter Oak, located on a very small property in an otherwise residential type neighborhood in St. Helena, is just such a place. As far as we can discover, their wine making technique is engaged in by no other winery in Napa.
When you hear someone tell you that a wine was “estate bottled,” are you impressed? If so, do you know why? If not, do you want to be? Well, you can make a more informed decision once you know what the term really means (do not feel bad if you don’t yet know, as the majority of people in the industry are in your shoes).
Napa Valley. High Museum. Sun Valley. South Beach. Aspen. Naples. Winesong. Sonoma. Vinitaly. These are places and names that immediately conjure up one image to the enophile – Wine Festival. And not just any wine festival, but an event of great prestige.
Movies and television commonly make light of wine tasting procedures, which can in fact be amusing to the uninitiated. In recent years, for example, the hit comedy Frasier often found the brothers in situations involving wine, and more than once they assessed and identified what was put before them, all the while loudly (and comically) sipping, swishing, and slurping their way to a conclusion. So is that how the professionals do it? Well, it’s not far off.
In early August we were privileged to be invited by the folks at Mumm Napa to their winery for Napa Valley’s first grape harvest of the year, which is traditionally a celebration of Mumm’s Pinot Noir Champagne grapes grown in the Yountville area. Attended mostly by company employees, with a few lucky media types thrown in, it is a morning of great joy as the growing season’s hard work has ended, and the fruit which is the livelihood of all is ready to be trucked in for pressing, fermentation, and aging.
Recent years have seen the emergence of a wonderful new rivalry. No, it is not the conference-best defining basketball game between West Virginia and Syracuse. In fact, it is not related to an athletic contest at all. It revolves around wine and charity, and is known as the Napa Wine Auction vs. the Naples Winter Wine Festival.
