Follow Along
BY MIKE DUNNE
Talking Superior California With Podcaster Matt Wood
In the world of wine podcasts, Matt Wood is carving out a niche for himself with warm and trenchant interviews of hands-on winemakers and grape growers who tend to produce small-lot wines with offbeat approaches in edgier terroirs about California. Somehow, he folded...
White Wines Emerging In Red-Wine Territory
Went to Amador County the other day just to taste white wines. Yes, that’s heretical, I recognize. Since the start of the modern wine era in the Sierra Foothills half a century ago, Amador County has been identified almost solely with husky red wines, Zinfandel in...
From St. Peter’s Church, A Fresh Foothill Zinfandel
As I signed books – have I told you about my book? – at Cooper Vineyards in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley earlier this winter, one considerate member or another of the tasting-room staff would bring me a glass of wine. Before the day was over, I’d tasted a...
Blends Surprisingly Impressive, Cabernets Surprisingly Sluggish
At the recent 2023 Los Angeles Invitational Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, our panel opening day tasted 125 wines spread across 14 classes, from Sauvignon Blanc to Port. By far, the most provocative class was “other red blends,” which meant that just about any...
D’Agostini: Historic Brand About to be Relaunched
An historic and revered but long-dormant name in winemaking along the Sierra Nevada foothills is being revived. D’Agostini, which from 1911 until 1984 was the name of a winery that dated from the Gold Rush in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley, again will appear on...
Balmy Weather Forecast, Wine Garden to Open
The 2023 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo commences Tuesday. It will run for nearly three weeks, ending March 19. There will be a livestock show and rodeos, of course, but also a concert series featuring such entertainers as Bun B’s Southern Takeover, Machine Gun...