I am involved in a social community local to the San Francisco Bay Area called Bay Area Linkup. I’ve been hosting hiking events with this group for nearly five years and wine-tasting events for the past three, and I’ll continue to do so simply because I’m having the time of my life.
While my hiking events […]

Sunday was only four days ago, but already it seems just so last month. Wherever did my July go? And yet, as if to celebrate the joys July had brought, I attended a barbecue and tasting on the back patio of my friend Sandy’s house in downtown San Jose last Sunday, an event she billed […]

Editor’s Note, November 15th, 2007: If you’re searching for a review of Beaujolais Nouveau wines from the 2007 vintage and wound up here, I must admit that I haven’t yet reviewed the new vintage. But what I’d like to know is, Should I?
Many wine buffs the world over participated last week in a yearly ritual — […]

Considered to be one of the most noble wines of Italy, Barolo lays claim to the title “Wine of kings, and king of wines.” The wine, named after the Barolo commune from which it originates, is made from the region’s heavily-grown Nebbiolo grape, a dark blue, highly tannic variety that can yield an incredibly powerful […]

At our Syrah tasting event last Thursday evening, six of us compared six bottles of Syrah – four from California and two from France. It was a pretty good lineup, but the top three finishers were all from California’s Central Coast appellation. It was clear that all six of us who formed the night’s tasting […]

At last Thursday evening’s Merlot event, we tasted six bottles – five from Napa Valley, all from California. While I can’t speak for the other folks present, it was apparent to me that all six could have breathed an hour before tasting them, as all seemed quite tart 10-15 minutes out of the bottle. […]

Four people attended last Thursday night’s Sémillon tasting, where we enjoyed three pure Sémillon varietals and one botrytized Sauterne-style blend that blew our collective socks off. The interesting news, upon revealing the wines, was that none of them were produced in France.
Why is that interesting?
It’s interesting because this varietal originates from France. Known as one […]

At last night’s tasting, we enjoyed five Pinot Noirs that represented California rather well, plus a sixth from the esteemed Bourgogne (Burgundy) region of France. This tasting presented some truly wonderful wines, and the results, though widely disparate, yielded 3 very good Pinot wines worth trying again.
Pinot Noir appears to be all the rage since […]

Six of us wine-loving folk got together last Thursday evening to taste wines from France’s fabled Côtes Du Rhône region.
I’ve always enjoyed a bottle of Côtes du Rhône when I’ve had one around, but I had not explored them very deeply. In my experience, they are light and refreshing — often too light for cool […]

I recently began hosting biweekly blind tastings at my home as a series of small-group learning experiences. Five of us got together last Thursday evening to taste Gewürztraminer wines.
Gewürztraminers, with their floral, spicy aromatics and slightly sweet lychee-nut taste, are an excellent match for fresh fruit and cheeses and a good complement to many simple […]