Thursday was a travel day as we made our way from Blenheim, back to Auckland, and then on to Sydney.  After a two and a half hour drive (no, we didn’t drive – hired a car!), we arrived at the Hunter Valley Crowne Plaza, location for the 2019 Wine Media Conference. …

We awoke on our second morning in New Zealand to a chorus of beautiful bird songs and chicken clucks. After coffee and breakfast, we got ready for the day’s adventures. My friend, Amy (wine buyer at Mission Wines) was able to arrange a private tour and tasting for us at Whitehaven. We had seen signs for Whitehaven on the way back…

It’s difficult to believe that our just completed trip to New Zealand and Australia was in the planning process for nearly one year. The Wine Media Conference (formerly the Wine Blogger’s Conference) scheduled its first conference outside of North America in the Hunter Valley of Australia.  The conference was set for October 2019 and I made our conference reservations on…

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…

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…

              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…