Dormant vineyards in the Coombsville AVA of Napa Valley's winegrowing region

Coombsville AVA

The Coombsville AVA is nestled in the cooler San Pablo Bay influenced area at the foothills of the southeastern end of the valley, hugging the Vaca range, and just east of the city of Napa (proper).  The lesser known 16th sub-appellation of Napa Valley was established in 2011, which…

Autumn vineyard roadway in Rutherford lined with colorful trees

Rutherford AVA, Napa Valley

Situated in the center of Napa Valley is the world famous Rutherford AVA.  Established as a sub-appellation of Napa Valley in 1993, Rutherford has a total area of 7,457 acres of which 1,454 acres are cultivated for grapes.  Sandwiched between St. Helena to the north, Oakville to the…

Silhouette of Pennsylvania state with "PA" on it, overlaid on a Pennsylvania winegrowing region

Pennsylvania Wine Month

It is Pennsylvania Wine Month, a state where no matter your location, you are within a 1 hour drive of a winery.  The state boasts over 200 wineries and an annual production of 1 million+ gallons of wine.  Recently wines from the state have seen international recognition by winning…

California wine country landscape in autumn

Sonoma Cabernet

When it comes to California Cabernet Sauvignon, it is true that Napa Valley is King.  Between the sheer amount of plantings, savvy marketers, big names, and the “Judgement of Paris” Napa will long hold the bulk of the market value for California Cab.  But with a similar Mediterranean…

Organic pinotage grapes on a living wine grape vine

What is Pinotage?

Pinotage is a portmanteau of Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Cinsault). Pinotage is an actual cross between the two grapes as well, created in 1925. Pinotage was created in South Africa. But what is Pinotage really? The story of Pinotage is one of a grape almost lost to history…

Sunset shines through a sign welcoming visitors to Napa Valley wine country

Why Napa Valley?

Napa Valley Cabernet is synonymous with quality, luxury, scores, and of course, the subsequent price tags.  But what makes the wines from Napa Valley command such a market presence?  What actually makes Napa Valley wines so special? Let’s skip over the portion of history where its wines were…

Beautiful midday scene of Red Mountain winegrowing region

Red Mountain AVA

Red Mountain is the smallest AVA in the state of Washington, hovering around 1600 hectares (~4,000 acres), with around 240 hectares cultivated for winemaking purposes. A sub-appellation of the Yakima Valley AVA (which in turn resides within the greater Columbia Valley AVA), Red Mountain’s unique geographical location allows…

Silhouette of California state with "CA" written, overlaid on a photo of wine grapes hanging from a vine

CA Zinfandel

Prior to 1998, CA Zinfandel was the most widely planted grape in the state.  Post-prohibition many common people believed it to be a native California grape until DNA testing results came in (and an assist from a little information filled invention called ‘the internet’) showing it to be…

Grenache block and row label in vineyard

Grenache, Garnacha, Alicante…

Grenache is one of the most widely planted grapes in the whole world, and in turn goes by a number of names: Grenache Noir, Garnacha tinto, Garnatxa negre, Grenache Blanc, Alicante, Carignane rosso, GSM, Navarra, Redondal, Rhone Blend, Rosé of Grenache, Roussillon…the actual list spans around 55+ known…