Taking life one sip at a time
A beautiful property for wine and food lovers.
The Meneghetti Winery and Wine Hotel is a hidden gem that unveils the richness of Croatian wine culture through luxury, history, and a deep-rooted passion for winemaking.For wine and travel enthusiasts seeking an extraordinary experience, this remarkable estate offers the seamless fusion of rustic charm and refined elegance that we’ve come to expect from a Relais & Chateaux property.
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Aaron Kendall.
Beaux Frères is one of those hidden gems in the wine world. You may have seen it in a bottle shop or on a restaurant wine list and then quickly moved along to something more affordable. Beaux Frères wines are very expensive, among the most expensive Pinot Noir and Chardonnays made not just in Oregon, but throughout the United States. As we recently confirmed while tasting through the line up with assistant winemaker Aaron Kendall, they are very much worth it.
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Moreno Coronica.
Nestled in the enchanting region of Istria, Croatia, lies the impressive Coronica Winery. With a history steeped in tradition and a commitment to producing wines of excellence, this family-owned estate has become a beacon of quality in the world of Croatian viticulture. Led by the visionary winemaker Moreno Coronica, the winery showcases the region’s unique terroir and the extraordinary potential of Istrian wines.
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Malvazija is quickly becoming popular, with good reason!
Ask a sommelier, a wine store owner or anyone else who is current with today’s wine trends what the hot topic is now and they will probably answer with something like: “today’s wine drinker is looking for a reaction to what their parents drank; they don’t want heavy wines that are found in stuffy old cellars. They want fresh, lively wines that emphasize aromatics and acidity; they want to try new wines made from different grapes and from different regions than what the old guard drank.” As we recently found out, a Malvazija from Istria not just hits the bullseye of this new zeitgeist, but it tastes totally delicious as well!
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The wine lineup at Nicolas-Jay..
Just a decade after their very first vintage and two years since producing the first full vintage in their own facility, Nicolas-Jay has very quickly built a reputation that is world class. Some would say this isn’t too surprising given that the “Nicolas” in Nicolas-Jay is none other than Jean-Nicolas Méo, winemaker and owner of Méo Camuzet, one of the very best wineries in Burgundy.
However, exceeding lofty expectations in a highly competitive and increasingly finicky wine industry is a significant achievement, regardless of wine pedigree.
Read MoreLast year we had the pleasure of sitting down with Moe Momtazi, founder of the highly respected Momtazi Vineyards and critically acclaimed Maysara Winery in Oregon’s northern Willamette Valley.
Tahmiene Momtazi.
We learned the story of the their humble beginnings and how Moe and his wife Flora’s journey truly defied the odds beyond any winery story we’ve heard to date.
They fled their native Iran on motorcycles during the revolutionary period of the early 1980s seeking political asylum in the United States. As they outran Iranian authorities they initially reached Madrid, Spain; Flora 8 months pregnant with their eldest daughter Tahmiene. That daughter is now the winemaker at Maysara since 2007. A mother herself to two young children, Tahmiene Momtazi’s journey in both wine and parenthood has now come full circle.
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A very informative tasting of wines from Valpolicella.
AdVINEtures was fortunate enough to be invited by our friends at Town Hall Brands to a terrific Masterclass and tasting of the wines of Northern Italy’s Valpolicella Region. The event was produced by the Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella, the association that represents more than 80% of the producers in the appellation. The Masterclass was very capably led by local sommelier and wine educator, Daenna Van Mulligen.
The day was divided into 3 parts: first, the Masterclass to inform us about Valpolicella, then a tasting of 11 wines from the region, and finally a walk about session to meet and taste with some of the region’s producers. This was a great way to get some real context about the region and to taste some of their wines.
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Iris Vineyards.
Our recent visit to Iris Vineyards, just outside of Eugene, OR, was quite a revelation. Iris claims as its foundation the ancient Grecian concept of “areté”. Don’t feel sheepish if you don’t know the meaning of the term; it is hardly used in modern English. The ancient Greeks used the term to mean excellence or virtue in your purpose. I was surprised when I heard the people at Iris use the term since I had not heard it used since taking a course on Aristotle when I was at university.
Areté to Aristotle, we were taught, was not a theoretical concept, but a practical implementation of maximum effectiveness at a chosen goal. Areté in winemaking, to use a concrete example, is different than areté in cooking. Both have a similar philosophical underpinning, but each is a distinct form of areté. The concept of areté is abundantly present in all of the endeavours at Iris that we encountered: from how they grow the grapes to how they vinify the wine to how they offer it to their customers.
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