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…

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…

Amy Luftig Viste and Jasper Dickson were good friends who shared a passion for wine.  Jasper worked for the highly regarded retailer, Silver Lake Wines, and Amy was avidly pursuing knowledge through classes about wine.  Amy realized she was more interested in the production end of wine rather than service, such as becoming a sommelier.  Jasper moved closer to his…

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…

              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…

Our Missouri Wine Board hosts had planned another busy day for us, packed with activities.  We began with a grand tour and tasting at Chaumette.  Hank shared some fascinating history with us about the name “Chaumette” and the influence of the French immigrants who settled in St. Genevieve. As we began tasting some of the wines, he used the classic…

Some History   My introduction to Missouri wines occurred at last year’s Wine Blogger’s Conference in Sonoma. I was not aware that the state was a wine producer and the handful of wines I tasted were impressive. The Missouri Wine Board offered an opportunity to visit one of the wine growing areas and I jumped at the chance. Missouri’s wine…

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…

One of the most serendipitous occurrences during our first day in Santa Barbara County was meeting Hilliard Bruce’s new production manager, Sonja Magdevski.  She also makes wine for her own label, Casa Dumetz.  Sonja was busy that Saturday, decked out in rose colored rain boots, managing various tanks of wine.  I called “hello” to her and she was happy to…