In June I made a short trip to Frederick, MD to visit my daughter and son-in-law.  We had dinner at a favorite spot, The Tasting Room.  Conversation with the sommelier, Jarrett Walsh, led to the decision to “go out on a limb” just a little and try a wine made from 100% Cinsault.  This particular wine is made by Michael…

Sass Winery in Salem, Oregon, was founded by wine maker Jerry Sass in 1989 when he purchased 19.4 acres of land and began planting Pinot Noir vines. The production is small, approximately 4,500 cases per year across all of the varietals. Jerry is passionate about the land, the grapes, and the wine making techniques he employs and the results are…

May has been a tasty month.  A friend, who also has a May birthday, and I celebrated our special days at McCrady’s.  Once again, the four course chef’s tasting menu did not disappoint!  Lee was in the mood for Merlot and we couldn’t resist ordering the Velvet Devil.  The Velvet Devil is made by  Charles Smith, an interesting character who…

Wines from Sancerre and oysters are a match made in heaven.  Debbie Marlowe of The Wine Shop of Charleston hosted a wonderful tasting last week, presided over by Laura Masero of Joseph Mellot wines and Eric Hill, the distributor. All tastings are educational and the big revelation for me during this event was learning about all of the different varietals…

Marie Sauer of Sauer Grapes Wine Lounge hosted a wonderful tasting of French wines last week.  Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows how fervently I support small grower producers in any region.  The people who grow the grapes and create the wines are passionate about quality and authenticity.  Sophie and Fabrice Laronze are among these select growers,…

During the 2013 Charleston Wine and Food Festival, I had the distinct pleasure of attending Merry Edwards‘ Single Vineyard Pinot Noir tasting.  Merry was one of the first women wine makers in CA, beginning her career in the industry in 1974.  In 1997, family and friends joined Merry to found Merry Edwards Winery, with a focus on producing Pinot Noirs…

An unusual experiment is taking place right here in Charleston Harbor.  Mira Winery of Napa Valley, CA, submerged four cases of 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon to test the effects of “ocean aging.”  The bottles were treated with additional wax seals and placed in specially designed steel mesh cages that allow the water to circulate around the bottles. The wines are in…

Thank you for participating in the Rock and Vine promotion – those of you who left comments and those of you who helped to spread the word.  You are all greatly appreciated.  The winners have been selected and should be receiving their beautiful books within the next week or ten days. This post contains various things I have been meaning…

A beautiful new book, Rock and Vine, will be available soon and I have two gorgeous pre-release copies of this book to give away!  There is no cost involved and no”catches”. It is the story of California’s evolving wine business.  Most of us know some of the names of the great pioneers of wine in California, the likes of Robert and…

Hello and  Happy 2013. I hope the new year is off to an excellent start. The holidays were fun and wine-filled and several deserve special mention.  Some of our family gathered in Charlotte, NC, to celebrate Christmas and we consumed many bottles of Champagne and Pinot Noir.  Our Christmas Eve selection was Gaston Chiquet Rosé pictured here – gorgeous salmon…