Where Have all the Malbecs gone album cover

Where Have All the Malbecs Gone?

San Francisco, CA.  2007. I was the Sommelier & General Manager at multi-year Wine Spectator list awarded, multi-year Michelin-starred Yabbies Coastal Kitchen on Polk St., between Vallejo & Green in the historic Russian Hill District – the restaurant where I actually met Cam for the first time as…

Malbec wine vines in a row with a sign reading "Malbec"

It’s World Malbec Day!

To celebrate World Malbec Day, we thought we’d share some fun facts about Malbec! While we Americans have recently had Malbec become a part of the collective wine connoisseur consciousness, it has actually been popular in Argentina for over a century Malbec was originally used only for blending…

Understanding AOC: Loire Valley

And without further ado, Loire Valley. Ok, no lie, we were holding off on writing about the Loire for as long as possible.  What direction should we go?  How should we present the information?  What is the best way to simplify such diversity?  This is not an easy…

landscape view of Saint Emilion village in Bordeaux region in France

Understanding AOC: Bordeaux

We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume you have heard of Bordeaux before and skip the whole “one of the most recognizable wine regions in the world” speil and get down to the real reason we are talking about it – what is in…

Understanding Italy: Super Tuscans

Super Tuscans are wines made in Tuscany, outside of the well known Chianti and lesser known Tuscan regions per DOC guidelines.  In the 1970s winemakers wanted to experiment with blending Sangiovese (the main regional variety) with the noble grapes of Bordeaux (and in a few cases Syrah from…