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Hitting Paydirt In Calaveras County

Hitting Paydirt In Calaveras County

A quick jaunt to Calaveras County the other day paid off with introductions to several mighty-fine wines: The day began with the fifth-annual International Cabernet Franc Wine Competition inside the sprawling Golf Club at Copper Valley, a gated settlement just outside...
A Fun Search for Answers to Napa Valley Questions

A Fun Search for Answers to Napa Valley Questions

A fresh and lively discussion is under way on the California wine scene. It centers on Napa Valley, specifically on what its most prominent style of wine – Cabernet Sauvignon – represents: Place or personality? Karen MacNeil, one of the state’s more prolific,...
It’s Elemental: Lighten the Bottle, Lighten the Impact

It’s Elemental: Lighten the Bottle, Lighten the Impact

  Four glasses of white wine were before me. I only was told that they were Chardonnay, one from each of four brands of Bogle Family Wine Collection, including their latest, Element[al]. I was asked to pick the Element[al], the first brand of wines in the country...
Ron Mansfield: From Cherries to Wine Grapes

Ron Mansfield: From Cherries to Wine Grapes

      Ron Mansfield, who nearly 50 years ago saw on Apple Hill the potential for crops other than apples, died Sunday after a long siege with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 76. In 1980, he and his wife Carolyn founded Goldbud Farms in what is known as both...
‘Wine in Moderation;’ What Does It Mean?

‘Wine in Moderation;’ What Does It Mean?

  Again, and again, the phrase popped up at the recent Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento: “Wine in moderation.” Never within my earshot, however, did anyone say what that means, or if “wine in moderation” were to materialize what it would mean for...
Highlights, 2024 Chronicle Wine Competition

Highlights, 2024 Chronicle Wine Competition

  In recent years, my role at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in Cloverdale has been to write tasting notes on best-of-class wines. This year’s competition attracted 5500 entries organized into 177 classes. That’s too many classes to taste and to...