Author Fodor's Napa and Sonoma
Coauthor The California Directory of Fine Wineries
I cover wineries, sights to see, activities, restaurants, and hotels in Napa, Sonoma, and beyond.
What to Do in a Day or Two
Judicious use of Pennsylvania and Missouri wood yields four distinctive C. Elizabeth Wines vintages. Mentioning American oak to some oenophiles prompts a mad dash to the (forested French) …
Classy Napa Valley Cabs Make Good Case for American Oak Read More »
Itineraries, what to do, points of interest, restaurants, hotels, and background info, sorted by region. Napa Valley | Sonoma County | Marin County | Mendocino County | Paso …
Five wines speak eloquently in virtual tasting/seminar “Oregon Chardonnay: Shifting Perceptions of the Variety in the Willamette Valley.” Five months of researching the next edition of Fodor’s Napa …
Offbeat mashups and wise cellar choices make for appealing wines. With a name like Anarchist Wine Co., there’s a lot to unpack. Is the anarchy just about varietal …
Four new releases spur reflections about the relationship between appellation and site. Wine blogger Jo Diaz recently asked me what I enjoyed most about covering California wines. Three pleasures …
Longtime local clan specializes in tannic hillside Cabernets. The family behind Piña Napa Valley goes back a rare eight generations in these parts – Bluford Stice, the first …
Four-course outdoor lunch’s menu, bistro-like setting evoke City of Light. Inspired elegance informs all the experiences at Jordan Vineyard & Winery, which produces a single Russian River Valley …
Guests at Terrace Tastings enjoy Insignia Bordeaux-style blend in bucolic splendor. Few wineries transport guests to the state of serenity and unrestrained beauty that Joseph Phelps Vineyards does …
In the late 1990s, when the economics of dairy farming in Northern California became problematic, John Bucher diversified by planting wine grapes on the 360-acre Healdsburg property his …
Veteran winemaker’s Old World–style Cabernets know precisely what they want to be. Cathy Corison, among the modern Napa Valley’s first women owner-winemakers, makes 100% Cabernets that age with …
