This week, more than 100 wine producers are gathering in San Francisco to celebrate America's take on the 22 grape varieties originally made famous in France's Rhone Valley. The producers -- known collectively as the "Rhone Rangers" -- trace their roots to the 1980s, when a small group of California
We reviewed five of them for Palate Press, focusing on pairing with a traditional Passover meal, from gefilte fish to brisket. Hagafen's wines are all certified by the Orthodox Union as Kosher for Passover. They are also yayin mevushal through the process of flash pasteurization. For the uninitiated, this means they
A food writer friend of mine got a visit from the grammar police recently, who gave him a snoutful of snootiness over his use of "varietal" to describe wine grapes. His correspondent wrote the following: "One of my biggest peeves is the improper use of the term varietal in wine
The following is from Chateau Montelena. We at Palate Press raise our glass in celebration of the life of a name that will be forever remembered in the wine world. CALISTOGA, Calif., March 15, 2013 – James L. Barrett (Jim Barrett), Napa Valley wine pioneer and owner of Chateau Montelena, passed
The color is a very pretty flamingo pink. The nose reveals aromas of roses and watermelon. On the palate it is fresh, bright but not quit zingy with acids, leading with roses, strawberry and lime, juice and pith, moving away from strawberry and to watermelon on the mid-palate. It closes
Tom Mansell, Ph.D., Palate Press' Science Editor, offers a seven-part lecture in the science of wine. He discusses yeast, esters, flaws, and even how to fix some flaws. Tom is an entertaining and informative speaker. We hope you enjoy Wine Science Part 4, Reduction. d d d Wine Science, Part
Hardy Wallace gave himself one year to sell through his first significant release of wines from Dirty and Rowdy Family Winery in late August, 2012. It would be work, hand selling, lots of travel. If they could sell out in a year, it would be a sign that maybe this
If you’re like most people, the light-bodied, refreshing Vinho Verde is what comes to mind when you think of wines from Portugal. Few today can name a producer making a “serious” red wine or describe its grapes or style. The fact is, most of these wines are consumed within Portugal