In May of 2019, I attended a wonderful tasting at The Wine House in Los Angeles.  Stolpman Vineyards was there in full force showcasing some of their world class syrahs.  I purchased four bottles that included the 2011-2014 vintages of Hecho Por Ruben, made by their vineyard manager, Ruben Solorzano.  Tom and Virginia Stolpman purchased their vineyard in 1990 and…

Sunstone Winery is one of my favorite properties, located just southwest of Solvang, in the Santa Ynez Valley.  They have a large portfolio of wines available in an accessible price range.  Just celebrating their 25th anniversary, the winery buildings were designed and built to look like a Tuscan estate.  Since the weather is good most of the year, guests prefer…

Brave & Maiden Estate is one of the newest wineries to emerge in the Santa Ynez Valley.  Vines were planted on the property in the 1990’s, but the grapes had never been used to make single vineyard wines.  The current owners acquired the property in 2010, named their winery Brave & Maiden, and released their first wines in 2011.  Their…

This month, we’ll talk about and taste chardonnay, one of the most well-known and dominant grape varieties in the world.  There are so many countries that produce chardonnay, one could spend months exploring all that this wonderful grape has to offer.  I decided to feature California chardonnay for this post and to focus on three major growing areas: the Russian…

It was September and time for our quarterly wine tasting trip.  We hadn’t been to Paso Robles since last November and in addition to visiting some wineries, we wanted to visit the fabulous light show called Sensorio.  There is a wonderful winery just south of San Luis Obispo called Laetitia  that specializes in sparkling wines and Pinot Noir.  Wineries and…

Pursuing Pinot has been experiencing creative shut down during the pandemic. However, I have encountered two new wineries that I want to share with you. My daughter, Hilary, and I ventured to Santa Barbara County in June to visit several of our favorite wineries and one new to us, Andrew Murray Vineyards. Lots of new rules were in place such…

Sonja Magdevski, owner and wine maker at Casa Dumetz Wines, held a special event for wine club members, a barrel tasting of some of her 2018 vintage wines. Sonja began her adventure into commercial wine making in 2008, with a focus on Rhone varietals.  She bottles under three labels: Casa Dumetz, Clementine Carter, and The Feminist Party. Sonja does not…

The Wine House, a wonderful wine shop in West Los Angeles, hosted Stolpman Vineyards for a grand tasting earlier this month. I’m a huge fan of The Wine House and they do an exceptional job with their tastings. First of all, events are not oversold, meaning you aren’t endlessly waiting in line at the tables and you can actually chat…

A recent visit to the lovely Central Coast included visits to three wineries new to me. My daughter, Hilary, had previously visited Riverbench and one of my friends recommended Dierberg and Sunstone. Riverbench is situated on the southeastern edge of the Santa Maria Valley, the northernmost AVA in Santa Barbara County. Pinot Noir vines make up the majority of the…

During the 2014 Wine Blogger’s Conference, I was introduced to Ballard Canyon and the world class Syrah that is produced there. While traveling in California recently, I wanted to return to the area and have another opportunity to taste the Syrahs. Ballard Canyon is one of the newest and smallest AVAs (American Viticultural Area).  It is made up of 7,700…