Melbourne, Australia Vue de Monde came highly recommended by co-workers of my daughter, Hilary, and it didn’t take much discussion for us to decide that we wanted to try it.  The restaurant has received critical acclaim for over twenty years.  In 2011, Vue moved to the 55th floor of the Rialto building, providing panoramic views of the city.  Upon arrival,…

A Marathon Chardonnay Tasting and a Cooking Class Another absolutely packed day awaited us.  We were collected early by our fabulous tour guide and driver, Brad, owner of Vine Venture Tours, and taken to the Agrestic Grocer for breakfast. The Agrestic Grocer is famous for its delicious coffees and features a beautiful retail store along with the restaurant – how…

              Fully half of our second busy day was spent at Crown Valley. This enormous 8,000 acre property is home to vineyards, Black Angus cattle, elk, long horn steer, watusi, and blackberries. The enterprise also includes a brewery, distillery, and various hospitality properties.  An unexpected feature is the family’s not for profit Tiger Sanctuary…

No matter where you live, you have likely been experiencing some very warm summer weather.  Grilling and barbecuing are favorite pastimes as we enjoy all of the wonderful foods the season offers.  I checked in with some of my favorite wine retailers and asked them about their favorite red wines for summer. Jeff Zimmitti owns and operates Rosso Wine Shop…

Last weekend, my daughter and trusty tasting partner, Hilary, and I headed off for a little getaway to Santa Barbara County for some wine tasting. The day was partly cloudy and the clouds added dimension and interesting lighting as we drove along the Pacific and into the Santa Ynez foothills. Even though California hasn’t seen much rain this season, there…

  The second day of the 2017 Wine Blogger’s Conference was fast-paced and packed with interesting presentations and tastings.  As night fell, we set off on our dinner excursion to Thomas George Estates. Thomas George Estates, located in the Russian River Valley, was established in 2008 and currently consists of four vineyards.  Production is dedicated to creating small lot, vineyard…

Pre-Conference Excursion to Napa Valley   I had been anticipating the 2017 Wine Blogger’s Conference with various emotions – excited to visit Sonoma and Napa, thrilled that my daughter, Hilary, was joining me, but also with some trepidation over what we would see as a result of the Wine Country fires.   Hilary and I arrived at the tiny Santa…

The Cube Project was conceived in 2010 by winemaker Thomas Houseman of Anne Amie Vineyards in Carlton, Oregon, Andrew Brooks of Bouchaine in Napa’s Carneros region, and Leslie Mead Renaud from Lincourt Vineyards in Solvang, California. Each participant chose a single block of Pommard Pinot Noir (Pommard was chosen in order to help control variables between the sites) and sent the…

The first full day of the conference opened with an inspiring keynote address from Karen MacNeil, wine expert and writer, who is most well known for her book The Wine Bible. This sentence captures Karen’s philosophy: “For Karen, wine is more than a beverage; it’s a communal passage into the business of living well.” Among the points she made that most…

This is a complex subject to condense down to a blog post.  Nevertheless, let’s give it a try. Regardless of the growing region, there are hybrid grapes and Vitis vinifera. Hybrids are crosses between two grape, or vitis, species and Vitis vinifera are crosses between the same grape species. The Concord and Niagara are examples of well known hybrid grapes…