Visit the Castle Engarran for the weekend national parks & gardens [ August 30th, 2010 ] Posted in » wine tour

castle-engarranOn the occasion of the weekend National parks and gardens on 5 and 6 June, the Castle of Engarran opened the doors of his 3-acre garden in the French fans. A walk inside the property where the resplendent beauty of his “madness” of the eighteenth century.
This visit was also an opportunity to explore the museum at this grape castle while tasting the delicious wines of the proposed by the castle.

The Engarran: symbol of Montpellier follies.

A folly is a wealthy suburban home craft. In the Engarran castle on a hill covered with vineyards, lies in its park, the Engarran, most feminine, the more baroque and best preserved of Montpellier follies.
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Healdsburg Raymond Burr Vineyards

raymond_burrWhat used to be the office of Raymond Burr Vineyards, on Westside Road, just northeast of Healdsburg (CA) is now a cozy tasting room. Not much has changed. The office machines are gone, as are the journals and volumes about orchids - another of Raymond Burr’s passions. There is, however, always a potted orchid in full bloom - one of Burr’s hybrids - displayed on a small walnut table. The shelves now hold winery artifacts and the counter that divides the room serves as a bar where the current vintages of Raymond Burr wines are poured for the fortunate visitor. If proprietor Robert Benevides is on hand, the guest may even be invited to sample some of the older vintages from the winery’s library.
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July 31st, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Beautiful Kirkland Ranch Winery

kirkland_wineryYour ordinary winery does not have its own cattle brand, nor a herd of Black Angus roaming the hillsides above the vineyards, but then, Kirkland Ranch Winery is not your ordinary winery. When the Kirkland brothers, Larry and Lonnie, purchased the 2000-acre spread that was part of General Mariano Vallejo’s original Rancho Soscol land grant in 1978 the primary crop on their Rocking LK Ranch was cattle. Grapes joined the mix in 1985 at the suggestion of Larry’s daughter, Chris, and additional vines were planted until, today, there are 138 acres of vineyard containing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo.
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July 29th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Champagne and its terroirs

vignes-rillyThe literature on wine that usually does very little room for Champagne vineyards: The subject is often obscured by the description of the peculiar development of champagne but above all it must be admitted that the joints often hinder any characterization of the soil . The purpose of the Champagne houses of reaching a constant taste, they use grapes from different areas of the Champagne region to achieve the desired result.
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July 23rd, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Visit Domaine Diebolt-Vallois

diebolt-03BEAUTIFUL REGION

  • A few miles south of Epernay, Cramant is the first village of the quartet prestigious Côte des Blancs: Cramant - Avize - Oger - Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. It is certainly one of the finest terroirs of Champagne, with its chalky slopes facing east, often topped by a small forest, which plays a thermoregulatory role. Here is the realm of vintage Champagne Blanc de Blancs, Chardonnay which shows one of its finest expressions.
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    July 23rd, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Casa Nuestra Winery & Vineyards

Small, family-owned, in a quiet, bucolic setting, a visit to Casa Nuestra on the Silverado Trail in St. Helena (CA) is like taking a step back through time. And the dedication of owners Gene and Cody Kirkham to producing wine from “noble though unfashionable varieties” in the Cabernet Sauvignon rich valley is also considered pretty old-fashioned. The Kirkhams started small and plan to remain that way, producing between 1500 and 2000 cases of wine each year. Even that limited quantity allows winemaker, Shay Boswell an opportunity to make seven tantalizing wines, and two, including the winery’s first Merlot and its oft-rewarded Meritage are produced at a high enough level to allow for some regional distribution. For the rest, wine-lovers will have to travel to the winery.
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July 11th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Brutocao Vineyards & Cellars

Calling the Brutocao wine center, at Schoolhouse Plaza in Hopland, a tasting room is like calling a peacock a bird. There is, certainly, a magnificent room in which to taste the Brutocao wines, but it is just part of the dream-come-true complex that Leonard and Marty Brutocao have created within the walls of the old Hopland High School, established in 1921.
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July 9th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery

It is not easy to improve on the friendly feelings generated by a visit to the original Sebastiani Winery tasting room. Of course, it was a bit small, and things could get a bit too cozy now and then, so no one complained too loudly when plans were unveiled for a complete re-do of the hospitality area. Now the work is completed and everyone is pleased and excited by the results.
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July 8th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Jogging in the vineyards

54084258_pDuring my last visit Medoc, I took the opportunity to race in the afternoon in the vineyards to enjoy the cool evening. And I had some big surprises. Go, put on your running shoes!

I cross the hamlet of Saint-Lambert and meets the building. Obviously, this is the winery of Château Latour Schedule (as it is written on his wall). Never heard of …
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June 13th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Will Ron And Nancy Blossom In Ohio?

The tiny hamlet of Ripley, Ohio, some 55 miles east of Cincinnati, is the scene of a fascinating experiment to produce international class wine on the north bank of the Ohio River valley. At the time of writing, which is March 2001, Ron Barrett and Nancy Bentley have, at Kinkead Vineyards, a vineyard - but no winery. They are convinced that the latter will be completed by August 15th, just 5 months away. Nancy, a marketeer, PR and superb cook, is so convinced that literally every brick will click into place on that date, she has promised to up-date Wine on the Web readers monthly. When mid-August arrives some of the varietals amongst their 3-year-old vines will be ready to offer their first wines.

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June 7th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

The Zinfindel Trail - part 2

picchetti1De Loach Vineyards

I arrived at the tasting room of De Loach Vineyards somewhat jaded after a 11 hour flight from London followed by a 2 hour drive from San Francisco in the rush hour. The folks were very welcoming and after I had been given some Zinfandel to revive my spirits I was taken for a drive around the various De Loach vineyards by Laura Sarong their marketing manager.
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May 26th, 2010 | 1 Comment

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