One of the most unique visits during our excursion in Southern Oregon was to Plaisance Ranch, founded in 1898 by Joseph Jean Ginet, who immigrated to America from Savoie, France.  His family grew grapes in France and Joseph went in search of land that he could farm. Near Jacksonville, Oregon, he found an abandoned orchard and was able to salvage…

Have you ever visited Southern Oregon?  I had my first opportunity recently as part of the 2021 Wine Media Conference.  As a bit of geographical backgrounding, the southwestern quadrant of the state is considered Southern Oregon and it encompasses five major regions.  Our travels were primarily in the Rogue Valley.  Water is abundant and hugely important in the area for…

Since the inception of Pursuing Pinot in 2011, content has been focused on experiences – travel, wineries, vineyards, tastings, and restaurants.  All of these have been in short supply during the past 11 months of pandemic.  Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to explore some of the most popular wine varietals, starting with Sauvignon Blanc.  My daughter, Hilary, and…

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…

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…

  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…

One of my favorite new wine shops/wine bars in the Los Angeles area is Stanley’s Wet Goods in Culver City.  Last week, I attended a class on the topic of Natural Wine. There is much disagreement about what constitutes “natural ” wine, but in general, the following characteristics apply: – Grapes grown using sustainable, organic, or biodynamic techniques (see my…

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…

On the second day of the 2016 Wine Blogger’s Pre-Conference Excursion in Lodi, my phone alarm began chiming at 5:00 a.m. I am never awake at this hour! But an experience not to be missed lay ahead. Our fearless leaders, Randy Caparoso and Jenny Heitman, loaded us onto our bus and we drove to the vineyards at Michael David Winery…