Zinfandel Day is the third Wednesday each November, putting it as a close predecessor to the Thanksgiving holiday. Here are some great Zinfandel facts for a bit of conversation over the turkey (and wine) for your celebration: Zinfandel is considered California’s heritage grape, there are some vines in…
Celebrate National Zinfandel Day
St. Helena AVA
Welcome to beautiful St. Helena, located in the northern part of the Napa Valley, just north of Rutherford, south of Calistoga, and sandwiched between Spring Mountain to the west and Howell Mountain to the east. Home to over 80 wineries, the St. Helena AVA was blessed in the…
Oregon Wine Month!
Happy Oregon Wine Month! Break out the Chardonnay! Break out the Pinot Noir! Break out the Pinot Gris! But save those Rieslings! Oregon, especially the Willamette Valley, is a cooler climate growing region and has developed some of the most astounding of the aforementioned varieties in wines. Hell,…
Michigan Wine
Happy Michigan Wine Month! With 13,700 acres under vine, Michigan is currently the 4th largest grape-growing state in the US with the #6 spot for production, just a hair behind Oregon. Most of the acreage is devoted to Niagara and Concord grapes for table use, which make up…
Rogue Valley AVA
Nestled in the southern-most reaches of Oregon, riding the border of California and comprised of 3 adjacent river valleys is the Rogue Valley AVA (a sub-appellation of the Southern Oregon AVA). The area was originally planted by European settlers in the mid-1800s with the first official winery being Valley…
Understanding AVA: Regions, Appellations and Sub-Appellations
It is easy to say European wine labels are confusing for Americans, but just how easy are our labels? Not completely easy to be honest. We all respect Napa (even if it isn’t our favorite to drink), but with the respect of the Napa namesake, are we talking…
Understanding AVA: Reserve Wine
In the large swash of Europe, if a wine reads “Reserve” that actually means something definitive. Each region has different laws, but as long as you are aware as a consumer, you know what you are getting in your bottle, at least from an ageing perspective. Minimum ageing…
Understanding AVA: Single-Vineyard
Single-Vineyard Wine. The highlight of a site’s terroir, climate, and soils, on full display in the truest expression, carried only by the finest fruit to deliver the sum total of what that one unique place on the planet Earth has to offer. No other place on the planet…
Understanding AVA: Estate
“Estate Wine” & “Estate Bottled” – two terms that you will come across frequently in the wine world. What do they mean exactly? Estate Wine: Estate wine is reflective of wine made from vineyard sites owned, managed, or controlled by a winery that all fall in the same appellation. …
