Taking Flight: Walla Walla Wine Incubators
In 2006, the Port of Walla Walla in Washington State constructed buildings to serve as space for new start-up wineries. Inside the five whimsical-colored buildings, that resemble a village out of “The Simpsons” cartoon, are winemakers with an entrepreneurial spirit and the dream of someday flying away from the incubators to be on their own.

2007 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Bonarda
I tasted this wine with a paired dinner at Destino in San Francisco, with winemaker Luis Villarreal. It was garnet colored with ruby edges and had a nose of rose petal with dried earth, blackberry and white/black pepper. The palate was also filled with roses and violets, with a medium-full mouthfeel. It featured [...]

2006 Joseph Phelps Insignia
A producer’s sample of a wonderful Napa red wine, 95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 percent Petit Verdot from a half-dozen estate-owned vineyards.  A rich, plummy aroma and flavors of dark fruit and coffee make this a superior example of California wine at its best, with perfect balance and a long, robust finish, thanks to 24 [...]

By Train To Portugal: The European Wine Bloggers Conference
That bottle of Taittinger, wasn’t destined to last long so extracting a corkscrew from the new leather man-bag a rather pleasant Pinot Noir from Jadot (Les Climats, 2004 vintage) was cracked open to accompany the various tit-bits extracted from Waitrose.

Domaine Lefarge Cote’ EST 2008
Here is a French blend of Grenache Blanc, Chardonnay, and Marsanne that is drinkable, affordable, and great value for the price point. The wine has a beautiful light straw color with a nose of light citrus and flowers. This Eric Soloman selection is a beautiful “bang for your buck” white wine. It holds up nicely to food and would go [...]