Terroir geeks: can we talk? Soil, bedrock, micronutrients—it’s downright complicated unless you have a degree in geology. Am I right? Luckily the wine world has Brandon Sparks-Gillis, geologist, winemaker, Master of Wine candidate, cofounder of Dragonette in Santa Barbara County, and all-around great resource on wines and soils. Brandon indulged me all my nerdy soil questions about the special place that is Sta. Rita Hills.
Read MoreAs tried-and-true Californians, we couldn’t be prouder of the beautiful wines being produced by the Golden State these days. Check out our weekly newsletter for a handful of the Domestic Buyer’s favorite picks, and learn about some of the producers who are defining the current Golden Era.
Read MoreOn a recent two-day jaunt through Santa Barbara wine country the team and I visited several producers who we believe are among the most exciting in Southern California. Our tastings confirmed that the wines from these producers are in fact drop-dead gorgeous.
Read MoreLast week I walked into K&L for our Domestic staff tasting, and Keith declared it was Pét Nat & Pizza Day (which, actually, isn’t a thing, but really should be a thing). In true Keith fashion, this wasn’t just any pizza—this was homemade Detroit-style pizza, a labor-of-love take on Sicilian pizza whose beauty lies in the thick, open-crumb, cheesy crust. Even better, we paired it with Pét Nat! You may have heard of Pét Nat, Champagne’s hipster cousin.
Read MoreCasey O’Brien’s new project is a label called Idle Chatter with a relatively straightforward goal: awesome wine meant to be drunk young and fresh at an everyday price point. But underneath a pair of great everyday wines is a remarkable project. Casey recently launched an initiative to give a percentage of his profits to LGBTQ charities. And underneath the friendly exterior, there’s a fascinating backstory to Casey.
Read MoreMarch is Women’s History Month, and we’re excited to spend it here on the blog with a spotlight on some of the women who are kicking ass in today’s wine industry. We’re going to start our series in California with Alison Thomson, whose L.A. Lepiane label is an ode to her Italian heritage as well as her deep roots as a Californian. Esther Mobley, the SF Chronicle’s fantastic wine writer, called her a winemaker to watch in 2018 because she’s making “a convincing case for Italian varietals in California’s Central Coast.”
Read MoreRoger Morrison and Marshall Dawson were passionate about cocktails and the flavors of the Golden State, and they wanted to make something that tasted like it: grapes, fresh Pacific air, the grassy valleys, citrus groves, and eucalyptus. They started working on the blend for Jardesca, a series of red and white wine-based aperitifs each with a distinctively California personality.
Read MoreYesterday we had a showdown in our Hollywood tasting bar. Domestic Buyer Kaj Stromer pitted Oregon Pinot vs. Santa Barbara Pinot for a Battle Royale. Who was the winner? We all were! The wines were awesome.
Read MoreHappy New Year! I can’t think of a better way to kick off 2019 than to write about what’s going on over at Tablas Creek. They’re still making graceful, seductive Rhône Blends out of Paso Robles, but the way they are thinking about their land strikes me as an essential model for sustainability in California winemaking. They’re going above and beyond organic farming. They are building a complex, self-sustainable world on their 300+ acres, and they’re leaving the land even better than they found it. They’re putting carbon back into the soil to hold more water. They’re adding new species of grasses. They’re minimizing potential risks for fire. And they’re doing it all with sheep.
Read MoreSharon and I took our show on the road again, this time visiting Dragonette Cellars and Peake Ranch in the Sta. Rita Hills. My Vans squished in the mud; my hair blew in the wind. Patton poured us tasting samples of their wine, John talked to us about the vines, and I felt that this is the exact reason to love wine—to connect with people and to feel places in your bones.
Read MoreWhen you pick up a bottle of Eric Kent wine, you know it. There’s no line drawing of an elaborate château, no fancy script, no coat of arms. What you see is an arresting piece of art or a poem, and, though each label is done by a different artist, there’s a sensibility that connects them. It’s a sense of humor. It’s a sense of whimsy. It’s a sense that you’ve entered a world through an artist’s unique looking glass.
Read MoreAnd so there we were, in 1100 square feet packed with people and barrels and grapes and a forklift and a bucket of Tecate—at ground zero of what I have no doubt is a new moment for wine in this city, because here’s the thing: the wine is good. And they have the momentum and enthusiasm behind them to keep these wheels turning. Owner Jasper Dickson is a bon vivant/musician/winemaker/entrepreneur, who has a passion for wine and for LA—and he’s got a plan for both.
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