Another weekend that felt a little “normal.” I went with @atastyjourney to our “Cheers,” Maxwell Park (que the Cheers theme song!). At their Navy Yard location they have a pairing menu called Russell Island (it’s a Fishing Island in MI). You select a number from the menu and you get a small bite paired with …
Last night was another educational and fun tasting with Erik Segelbaum, Smithsonian Associates and SommStock. This tasting took us on a journey of Burgundy. I realized I am officially on the white wine train. I enjoyed the Chablis and Mersault (bottles 1 & 2 respectively). I also loved that Erik gave us an easy way …
To be honest, prior to planning a trip to Morocco, I figured it was going to be mostly a “dry” trip. I prepared myself to be sober for a few weeks. Yikes! I naively thought that the North African country seriously frowned upon all drinking. Well, all things except Moroccan Whiskey aka Mint Tea. Ya’ll …
Pictures from Sunday’s Txakoli fest at Maxwell DC! There was unlimited Txakoli, Ciders, Porrons and delicious bites. The great thing about Txakoli is it’s high acid but low alcohol (9.5-11% ABV). So it’s an easy, all day sipping wine and goes great with food. The crowd favorite of the night was Ameztoi’s Rubentis Rosé. The …
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 …
My final session of SommCon was Viewing Wines Through The Lens of Diversity. The session not only included a dynamic discussion but we also followed along as the panelists did a blind tasting of wines from around the world. The wines were from China, Mexico, US, Israel and South Africa. The first picture shows wine …
Beautiful wines during the SommCon session: White Burgundy Without Wood – Displaying Chardonnay’s True Character. The panelists — Geoff Labitzke – Director of Sales, Kistler Vineyards Robert Jones, MS – Advanced Sake Professional, Kysela Pere et Fils, LTD.
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 …
Fresh off my trip, I was able to get it together to volunteer for this year’s SommCon DC (read last year’s post). The first session I assisted with was New Horizon of Asian Wines, World Class Chinese and Japanese Wines. The session was moderated by Toshio Ueno – VP & Executive Instructor, Sake School of …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
