One of the first things you’ll notice when you arrive at Tablas Creek Winery’s tasting room is the directional sign that stands outside the front door. It points to the vineyard itself (9 yds to the left) and then in the opposite direction toward its partner, Domaine de Beaucastel, 9009 km away–a symbolic representation of its partnership with the Perrin Family of the prestigious winery in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. And when you decide to partner with such a respected house to establish a winery on US soil, not only are expectations high, but the inevitable comparisons tend to follow. Robert Haas, importer and founder of Vineyard Brands did just that in 1989 with the Perrin family and the result is Tablas Creek, a winery making impressive wines that more than stand on their own merit.
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“We will be relentless in our pursuit of perfection. We won’t ever be perfect – but in the process we will achieve greatness.” – Vince Lombardi. That quote from the great coach could just as easily have been said by Daniel Daou, winemaker and co-proprietor of Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles, California. Daniel, and his brother Georges, have set out to make the very best wine that can rival the best of Napa or Bordeaux, and Advinetures got to hear their fascinating story first hand when we visited with Daniel at their gorgeous hilltop winery.
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The wine world has always made a point to differentiate its various different terroirs, as the differing conditions of site, soil, temperature, aspect, sunshine, rainfall and a myriad of other factors have a big influence on the wines that different terroirs produce. Across the world it is well known that different sub-regions produce different styles of wine, and, perhaps even more importantly, different quality levels of wine. These sub-regions are generically referred to as Geographical Indications or GIs. Across the world, these GIs have more local names. In France they have the AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlee) system, Italy has Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and two others, and the US has the American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation.
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When you have a name like Grapevine and you’re in the heart of an emerging wine region, living up to the expectations a name like that provides can be daunting. Combine Grapevine with GrapeFest, the largest wine festival in the Southwest, and you have the makings of a pretty great opportunity to taste what Texas winemakers have to offer.
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In 1965 David Lett planted the first Pinot Noir vines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Fifty years later the region is home to more the 400 wineries producing some of the best of this varietal worldwide along with other cool climate wines such as Chardonnay, sparkling and Syrah. But while Pinot Noir is certainly what put Willamette Valley on the wine map, it is their experimentation with some surprising ones that makes visiting this area truly intriguing for wine lovers.
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EFESTĒ (pronounced eff – ess – tee) is a true family winery: two generations of the Ferrelli family work in it and they learned the trade from a third. When you go to visit them at their Woodinville, Washington tasting room, as we recently did, the sense of family comes through loud and clear.
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