During the 2014 Wine Blogger’s Conference, I was introduced to Ballard Canyon and the world class Syrah that is produced there. While traveling in California recently, I wanted to return to the area and have another opportunity to taste the Syrahs. Ballard Canyon is one of the newest and smallest AVAs (American Viticultural Area).  It is made up of 7,700…

During my travels on the West Coast last month, I was introduced to Treasure Island and the growing collective of urban wineries that have made the island home.  The site of a former U.S. Naval Base, Treasure Island is a man-made isle set between San Francisco and Oakland, accessible from the Bay Bridge.  The first winery began operations in 2007…

On the second full day of the conference, I selected a session on the terroir of Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara County boasts one of the most diverse climates and largest number of grape varietals grown anywhere in the world.  The region is home to a topographic feature not found anywhere else in the contiguous U.S., a pair of mountain…

Misuzu, who is a wine distributor from Japan, was interning at Ken Wright Cellars when I visited in 2011. She was back in the U.S. for a combination vacation/business trip and we had the opportunity to go to some wineries together while I was in Oregon.  We share some favorites and our first stop was Alexana where our friend, Christie,…