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Lynmar 2010 Rosé of Pinot Noir
Years ago, I was making own little batches of wine in the garage behind a big old rented house that I shared with three housemates. One day, the girlfriend of one of my housemates, a psychology major...
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Wine Guerrilla 2009 Adel’s Vineyard Zinfandel
Why not Zin Guerrilla? Good question, because winemaker Bruce Patch created this brand with a single-minded focus on Zinfandel grown in Sonoma County. But when this label first appeared on local...
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De Loach 2009 Russian River Valley Pinot
If you enjoy Pinot Noir without a thought or care for swirling controversy about alcohol percentages and tiffs over terroir, then bully for you. You must not be of that persnickety ilk, the wine...
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Freestone Vineyards 2009 Fogdog Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
It’s tempting sometimes to describe a wine more by what it isn’t than what it is, a pitfall that I often stumble into. It might be dismayingly unhelpful to the makers of wine, for one, and it’s a kind...
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Open a Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Riesling for Thanksgiving
You know the holidays have arrived when San Francisco’s public radio station KQED announces that “This hour of news has been sponsored by Martinelli’s sparkling cider (no relation to Sonoma County’s...
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Truett Hurst Winery shows off Biodynamic roots
While organic and Biodynamic farming is still perceived by some as a risky endeavor, who would have thought that the challenges would include belligerent sheep? When one of Truett Hurst Winery’s sheep...
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Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuvée 2004
Pop the Sparkling Wine Before New Year’s Eve You’ll notice that wine scribes everywhere are keen to advocate the wider use of sparkling wine, and perennially decry the narrow notion that it’s only a...
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Ring in the New Year with Sparkling Korbel Champagne
Many times I’ve been an advocate for the go-for-broke approach to New Year’s Eve festivities, but after the holiday shopping has been done, many of us find ourselves, well, broke. Fortunately, few...
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Jack London Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
The Jack London Vineyard is a beautiful property perched on the foot of Sonoma Mountain. It’s easy to imagine the author surveying the rolling green waves of grapevines as he wrote the following salute...
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Hawley 2005 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma County wineries are not special in at least this one detail: Every other tasting room has a “Winery Dogs” book for sale or on display, featuring a big portrait of their faithful pooch in...
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Windsor Oaks Vineyards 2007 Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon
Smack dab in the middle of the county, this vineyard estate is like some kind of equal-opportunity wonderland for grapes: From each according to their abilities—Windsor Oaks sells tons of the...
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Barrel taste or bunker taste
What’s the best time of the year to taste wine in Sonoma County? Clearly, it’s not a question of getting it fresh and in season. The wine is fine any time of year, so let’s move on to the visuals. Some...
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Vote Now on Cline Pinot pairing
Many a shopper has prowled the wine isle, frowning and furrowed of brow, trying to find the right wine for dinner. White with fish, right? What about seared Red Snapper? And isn’t that red-listed by...
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Inspiration Vineyards – Russian River Valley
There’s an old saying in the wine business: You can make mediocre wines from great grapes, but you can’t make great wines from mediocre grapes. You can, however, make exceptional wines from excellent...
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Truett Hurst “White Sheep” Pinot Noir
The White Sheep is not a little lamb, anymore. When Virginia Lambrix sent me off from the tasting room last August with a bottle of her just-released Pinot Noir, it was with this admonition: Don’t open...
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De Loach 2008 Green Valley Pinot Noir
Is it possible that this wine would taste so good if it wasn’t from the specifically sub-appellated region, “Green Valley of Russian River Valley”? Taste is a matter of opinion, so sure, why not? Is it...
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Iron Horse Vineyards 2006 Ocean Reserve
I AM GIVING. I AM SPARKLING. I AM LIMITED. I AM THE OCEAN. No, it isn’t the new menu from embattled raw food chain Café Gratitude, whose options from side salad to smoothie are famously upbeat and...
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Freestone Vineyards 2009 Fogdog Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
I was several miles along the Kortum Trail, passing by fog-scraped spires of rock, when, for no reason, I looked to my left. It wasn’t that I sensed something, although I’d been walking on the right...
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Cline 2011 Sonoma Coast Marsanne Roussanne
Tonight I’m sampling a 2010 Roussanne that hails from the noble grape’s home in the Rhône region. Before the rich, honeyed aroma typical of this varietal can reach my nose, another whiff beats it to...
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Wine Guerrilla 2009 Harris-Kratka Vineyard Zinfandel
It’s June, and the flush of spring is a bust. It’s barbecue weather. The hills are blonding, the bloom is off the rose, and the riotous green bulb-leaves of spring are coming to terms with a future...
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