When most imagine traditional American barbecue, a glass of wine is usually not in the picture. Barbecue, in its many forms across the country, shares a common theme of being a no frills, down-home, food event. Whether we’re talking pulled pork in North Carolina, braised brisket in Texas, or grilled tri-tip in California…all share this core characteristic.
Petit Verdot hails from Bordeaux, where it is most often used in the region's famous red blends to add dark violet color, stouter tannins and impart concentrated fruit flavor on the palate. However, because Petit Verdot tends to ripen later in the season it carries a "hit or miss" reputation, depending on the vintage, as to whether or not the fruit will actually make it to harvest and be a viable addition to a Bordeaux blend.
It’s Thanksgiving time again and this day of the year dedicated to food and family is a great time to open some Monterey County wines. But which ones?
Albariño is a white varietal most often associated with Spanish wines. The majority of the world’s Albariño grapes are grown in Spain and made into Spanish wines as either varietal wines or white blends. But the varietal is not limited to Spain. It’s grown prolifically in Portugal, and is growing in popularity in new world growing regions such as Australia and California.
Gouda, or "How-da" as the locals say, is a Dutch cheese named after the city of Gouda in the Netherlands. If truth be told, it is one of the most popular cheeses in the world, accounting for 50 to 60 percent of the world's cheese consumption. 
Racking is a wine making term that gets tossed out often and may sound like some complex process. But, in fact, the underlying basis of it is not so complicated.
Petite Sirah (aka Durif or Petite Syrah) was first found growing in France in the mid-1800’s. It’s loved for its extraordinary deep color and full-bodied flavors of blueberry, chocolate, plums and black pepper. Despite its popularity, Petite Sirah is an exceptionally rare grape with less than 10,000 planted acres worldwide, growing mainly in California.
If one compares the wine grape growing process to a novel, the harvest is by far the denouement of the story. This is the point where the developing plot of the story (in our analogy here, this would be the development of the grapes on the vines) fully comes to light (seen here as the picking of the grapes that will ultimately be turned into wine).
A lot of false information gets tossed out there regarding Zinfandel from those who know what they’re talking about or those who believe they know what they are talking about.
Ever thought it’d be fun to be a sommelier? Even those of us in the wine industry have considered how it would take our wine knowledge to another level by taking the sommelier path. But that path is not one to take without a lot of consideration and dedication behind it.