Miljenko “Mike” Grgich [photo courtesy of Grgich.com]
May 24, 1976 is a date forever ingrained in the history of California’s wine industry. No one could have predicted how the outcome of one wine competition in Paris would cause such reverberations across the world. The “Judgement of Paris” not only put Napa Valley on the world wine map, it also marked the arrival of Croatian-born Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, the winemaker behind the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that earned the highest score of the white wines. More than 40 years since that historic tasting, 96-year-old Mike has ensured that his legacy of producing world-class wine continues at Grgich Hills Estate through his daughter Violet (President) and nephew Ivo Jeramaz (Winemaker/VP Vineyards & Production).
Read More
Stunning views at Smith-Madrone.
One of the many great things about being a frequent traveler to wine country is the stunning natural beauty that often accompanies the setting. Spring Mountain, with its undisturbed natural forests, steep vineyards and stunning views of the Napa Valley laying more than a thousand feet below is one of the more beautiful and picturesque settings we have been to. Smith-Madrone occupies a gorgeous spot high up these hills on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains where they make wines every bit as beautiful as their site.
Read More
The tasting room at Melville.
Within the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County, there are only a handful of wineries that have reached critical acclaim worldwide. For the last two decades Melville Winery has consistently produced top quality wines in this underrated region, helping bring attention to its very unique terroir and the exciting potential still to be realized there.
Read More
2007 Merry Edwards Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir
2007 Merry Edwards Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir
From respected winemaker Merry Edwards, this Russian River Valley offering is a perfect example of why this region in Sonoma has a world-class reputation for Pinot Noir. A very expressive wine with dark cherry and plum backed with secondary notes spice and earth. We had to double check the label that this was actually 11 years old! Still lots of structure and very fresh, making us think it still has a few years ahead of it. Great mouth feel and quite a long finish for a Pinot Noir.
Excellent
Read More
Tasting at Boeger Winery.
There are many great joys of the wine world and one of those is making a new discovery. For us at AdVINEtures, one of our better recent discoveries has been El Dorado County, just outside of Sacramento, California. We were first introduced to this gem of a wine region at the Wine Bloggers Conference 2017. A highlight of that conference was a presentation on El Dorado County put on by a number of their winemakers. That is where we met Justin Boeger, winemaker at Boeger Vineyards, as he poured his Barbera for the group and told us about his family winery. After that presentation we decided we had to check out El Dorado and definitely make a stop at Boeger Winery when we there.
Read More
Recent Comments