I went to a wonderful tasting at Chat’s Liquors on Saturday with Ntsiki Biyela! She is the Owner and Winemaker of Aslina wines from South Africa (South Africa’s first Black Female Winemaker!). Ms Biyela showcased her 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 & 2018 Chardonnay, 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2015 & 2016 Red Blend. Made using grapes …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
From Burgundy to Bordeaux all in one day! This delicious 6-course wine dinner was held at Convivial. Through an interpreter, we were told the story and journey of Joël Duffau (the winemaker). Pricing on this wine is out of this world (in a good way)! My favorite, the Le Barry, an easy sipping red wine. …
What a fabulous tasting at Domaine Storage DC (thanks @atastyjourney). We had the pleasure to listen to Benjamin Leroux discuss his delicious wines. He knew at age 13 that he wanted to be in the wine industry. I don’t know what you were doing at 13 but that’s serious wine love! Wine seems to have …
I won these bubbles in a co-worker’s kid’s school raffle in 2009, after purchasing a raffle ticket. At the time, I didn’t really think much about it. Even though the bottle was marked “Priceless” it was always low on my list to open. Was it priceless to the original owner because they packed it carefully …
Last week, I went to another Zachys DC tasting. Upon entering, we were greeted with a generous pour of Laurent-Perrier Rosé. Cathleen Burke-Visscher, Founder, of Wine Works & Co., guided us through a fabulous tasting from Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Chateau Fourcas-Borie and Chateau Lalande-Borie. It was so cool that we got to do a vertical tasting …
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 …
Last week I went to a fabulous tasting at Zachy’s DC with Sophia Bergqvist from Quinta De La Rosa — with food from Perfect Little Bites! Since 1906, Quinta De La Rosa has been a family owned business located on the banks of the River Douro (Portugal). The property was a christening present given to …
Initially, I was supposed to take my Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) exam (check out my first post, “Just Start Already”). Went on vacation to South Africa and got behind in class/studies. Never caught up. I decided to postpone it. I knew I couldn’t pass without seriously studying. Was that the best decision? For me, …
If you have read my posts before then you know I am a fan of bubbles. At all price points! So my friends and I decided to “taste the stars” at Calvert Woodley’s Champagne and Sparkling Wine tasting. For bubbles to be called Champagne, it has to be made in the region of Champagne (France). …
On Sunday I checked out a really cool, intimate conversation at Dio Wine Bar called “Where Gender and Wine Intersect” with Rachel Signer (Editor and Publisher of Pipette Magazine). There were some really important questions that were asked and answered by Rachel. I won’t get into specifics because I feel that I am not the …
After the wine class at Maxwell DC, we went to dinner at Tiger Fork. Finally!! The fried, crispy Chili Tofu with crab was the perfect starter. The cocktail was an Old Fashioned but not your usual OF — it was made with Baijiu (a white liquor made with sorghum, wheat, rice, sticky rice and corn) …
