January 20, 2021 Today, the first Black and Indian Woman, Kamala Harris, walks into the White House as Vice President. Madam Vice President. An HBCU grad (to be specific a HOWARD grad) and member of the Divine Nine, AKA Sorority, Inc. Little girls all around the world know they can dream bigger and the universe …
CALIFORNIA WINE
Small Bottles with Big Names…
A few weeks ago I posted a pic (on IG) of this wine pack during a quick stop to Costco. In the moment, I decided that I didn’t want to spend that much money on wine. However on my next trip to Costco I figured why not just get it. So I went to grab …
Gary Farrell’s Sip and Zoom…
I am loving the Zoom life! It has afforded me the option of listening to some awesome educators and winemakers. Last week I had the pleasure to attend an online tasting with Winemaker Theresa Heredia of Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery. Theresa has worked as winemaker at Gary Farrell since 2012. She brings her experience …
Pinot Noir Day…
I normally don’t celebrate wine holidays but yesterday was Pinot Noir Day! Well I couldn’t pass that up! I decided to Coravin a little of this hand harvested 2018 Pinot Noir from Oceano Owner/Vintner Rachel Martin (Marbue Marke is the Winemaker). It’s bright, earthy, cherry, strawberry with a hint of vanilla. I made a little …
Tasting with a Pro…
A little tasting and education on Saturday with Winemaker Matt Taylor and Master Somm Carlton McCoy. The tasting featured Matt’s sold out, hard to find label Chamboulé. These wines are 100% whole cluster and made with very little sulfur. Carlton walked us through a tasting of Matt’s 3 Cabernets. 1. 2015 Chamboulé Cabernet Sauvignon Constant …
Quick, bring me a glass…
This will be my first time trying Bodkin Wines. Bodkin was founded in 2011 by Winemaker Chris Christensen (with that name you must do something cool, right?). This winery may be small but it’s mighty! Chris is the creator of the FIRST American Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc. Now ain’t that America! I am super excited to …
Wines made by the Oceano…
I had the pleasure to sit and chat with Rachel Martin, Owner/Vintner of Oceano Wines (Marbue Marke is the Winemaker). If her name sounds familiar it’s because she used to work with her family at Boxwood Estate Winery (Middleburg, VA) before starting Oceano. We sampled two Chardonnays – 2016 & 2017. This beautiful expression of …
Time Traveling in Napa…
My first SommCon session of day two was Time Traveling in Napa – How to Access Library Wines, and How Top Producers Release Them. This session is merely just one of the reasons to come to SommCon! Where can you try a 1985 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, 1966 Charles Krug Cabernet or 1997 & 2010 Schramsberg …
The stars aligned just for me…
I don’t even know where to start about my “quick” weekend experience. So I’ll start at the beginning. I found out about the Batonnage Forum from Julia Coney on Instagram and thought I NEED to be at this conference! Now if you know me personally, follow me on IG or Twitter or even read my …
Start the day with Bubbles…
When in Sonoma, why not start the day with Bubbles! The perfect picturesque place for this is Iron Horse Vineyards, a family-owned winery known for their Sparking Wine. You can taste wine outdoors in the sunshine with breathtaking views. Some of their Sparkling wine has been served multiple times at the White House. They also …
Teamwork and winemaking…
The beautiful property of Reeve Wines, owned by a dynamic husband and wife team (Noah and Kelly Dorrance), is a small production winery/farm. (I love that they have goats and chickens roaming around together!) Even though Noah is in charge of winemaking and production, they have a lot of support from all-star winemakers (check out …
Champagne wishes and Caviar dreams…
My second visit to Jordan Winery felt like my first visit to Jordan Winery (super exciting!). I was ready to taste Jordan’s collaboration bubbles with AR Lenoble and eat some delicious caviar. We arrived early for our tasting, so Maria (you are lucky if you get to meet her) showed us around the property. This …
So many Chandeliers…
Visiting Restoration Hardware (RH) Yountville during the day is pretty but this place comes alive at night. I wish I had a place like this where I lived. I would make it my “Cheers!” There is the Wine Vault for drinks, a Restaurant with olive trees as the centerpiece and of course a beautiful store …
A wine tasting dream…
To me, a dream combination of wine tasting is a female winemaker and beautiful wine. I achieved both at Corison Winery. The owner and winemaker is Napa superstar Cathy Corison. Even though it was a rainy day in Napa, walking in the doors of Corison made me smile. I mean how can you frown when …
A pretty wine label with yummy wine inside…
I’ve been waiting to try this wine for a while. I decided last night was perfect. It’s made by Cruse Wine Co., a small boutique winery in Petaluma, California. I purchased this bottle at a wine shop in DC called Domestique. They have a lot of different, intriguing wines with very knowledgeable staff. Sometimes when …