With autumn in full swing, colorful leaves begin to adorn grape vines in Napa Valley and in the rest of the country paint the treetops of skylines to only fall poetically to the ground.   Autumn’s palette fills with orange, yellow, burgundy red, crimson red and brown to create warm hues on leaves previously kissed by […]

Proprietary Reds in Napa Valley arrive in varying grape combinations and consistencies.   Their tannins can be refined or firm and they can easily be overly influenced by the climate of each growing season.   As discussed earlier this year, some proprietary reds will actually meet the rigorous standards of Meritage, others will be called Claret and […]

Generally when visiting tasting rooms at wineries throughout Napa Valley I overhear all things imaginable:  a tourist wondering what “big game” can be hunted in the valley, others lamenting how they have no self-discipline to cellar but discipline to consume, brash statements of “this” is a “good” cabernet sauvignon (without regard to the differences in […]

Mad for Merlot?   Is this possible?   Have I finally tasted enough wine to have lost my own wits and sense?   Hardly.  Instead, let it be known that anyone who turns up his or her nose at the possibility of being “mad for merlot” cannot claim to be a true wine aficionado. Merlot is a grape that (as […]

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Pinot Noir became vogue (and pricey) thanks to the movie “Sideways”.   An unfortunate casualty of that movie, however, was Merlot.    Most notably, the character Miles, an easily perceived wine snob, angrily states, “I am NOT drinking any f-ing Merlot,” in one scene of the movie.   Merlot has gotten […]