If you have had the pleasure of drinking wine from the famed Bien Nacido Vineyards in Santa Maria Valley of Santa Barbara County, then you know the fruit coming out is exceptionally special. Winemakers from all over California are lined up just waiting for the chance to obtain some of the States very best fruit. 

There are times you drink a wine and you have an instant response. Then there are some wines that the more you drink them, the more you like the wine. The 2010 Tendril Pinot Noir is just that type of wine that keeps you coming back to ponder.

Have you ever wanted to blend your own bottle of wine? Blending my own wine is something I have thought a lot about over the years, Pinot Noir in-particular. Wine blending has been a frequent topic between my wife and I, to the point that despite being untested or proven, my wife believes I could blend well. I on the other hand am not so sure.

While attending the Wine Bloggers Conference in Oregon last August, I was honored to receive an invitation to join about 25 others by our very gracious hosts, Maria, and Rob Stuart of R.Stuart ...

"Earth Day." This particular day may not have a special meaning for some, however, there is a group that knows how to through a party, or shall we say wine festival. SIP, also known as Sustainable In Practice, is an organization dedicated towards promoting vineyards/wineries that practice environmental responsibility among other aspects. 

The 7th annual Earth Day Food & Wine Festival is held in Paso Robles at Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery on Saturday afternoon April 20th. The celebration will be inclusive throughout the Central Coast and showcase over 200 purveyors of award winning, sustainable produced food and wine. Growers, vintners ...

Each Tuesday night on Cellars of Sonoma it has a variance level of excitment to me. The range seems to fall between wow, this is going to be awesome, to OMG Heidi Freaking Barrett is on the show tonight. Having the opportunity to listen in on vineyard owner Rick DuNah and winemaker Greg La Follette while drinking their wine is no doubt on the very high end of privledged Tuesdays. Both the DuNah and LA FOLLETTE labels landed on the Wandering Wino 2012 top wines of the year.

When I see a wine labeled as "Red Wine," I get very ...

Wine reviews seem to be widey prevalent with a variance of metrics as indicators for a wines quality. When a wine is worth buying, good or great, those are the only wines worthy of writing or discussing in my estimation. The other wine's simply should not be seen in my view. 

Cimarone 2010 Le Clos Secret is a wine worthy of drinking, buying, discussing, and yes posting here. This Bordeaux style is a seamless blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot, and 5% Malbec from the Cimarone estate located in Happy Canyon of ...

Drinking wine is easy, but who doesn't want to do it better? There could easily be a long list of tips and suggestions, but for simplicity this is just to drivie home just a few key points.

• Wine should be served at optimum tempertures to bring out the best in the wine; so put away the ice bucket. A good general range is for most reds, 65 degrees, and 60 degrees for whites. If the wine is poor quality, by all means get those whites good and cold, as it will cover up mistakes in the wine. 

Decant - let ...

The wines from Cellars of Sonoma are like the Beatles and Pete Rose. They just keep getting hits. Each week as a handful of us bloggers meet via livestream and twitter with Scott Jordan of Cellars of Sonoma and his winemaker guests on Tuesday nights at 6:00 PM PST.

The wines are ultra small production artisian winemakers from the region that are offered via Cellars of Sonoma. One of the most exciting wine growing regions for Zinfandel is one of the newest AVA's in CA, Rockpile (just north of Dry Creek in Sonoma).

Rockpile in my estimation is ...

When visiting the local grocery store, Trader Joes, or COSTCO to shop for wine, I see many people staring into an abyss of wine. I can see the struggle in some of their eyes of not knowing what they should purchase. Most people simply do not want to gamble their money on plonk wine. Research statistics indicate the vast majority select their purchases on price point being the number one contributor.  

Of course there are many different circumstances someone might want a bottle, but at the end of the day, everyone wants something that tastes palatable or better for a ...

Andrew Murray Vineyards Esperance 2011 is a special blend of 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre. The label indicates "Central Coast" as both the Grenache and Mourvedre come from West side Paso Robles, while the Syrah is Santa Ynez Valley. 

The name "esperance" translates from French to English meaning "hope." A few years ago I had the honor of interviewing this legendary and humble winemaker that major wine press put on the "watch list" when he is just 20 about years old. I am pretty sure he can still fly on airplanes without issue, as that is an entirely ...