Tag Archives: Napa

by | October 2, 2013 · 9:00 am

Sigel’s Benchmark Cabernet Tasting Blows Your Mind With Quality

wine1by Andrew Chalk

It was packed. And no surprise about that. Sigel’s 4th Annual Benchmark Cabernet Tasting at the Park Cities Club was full of some of the best Cabernet Sauvignons from the U.S. (and a few from Australia and South Africa as well). Among the 50+ wines there were names with established reputations like Dominus, Beaulieu, Beringer, Groth, Miner, Robert Mondavi, Nickel and Nickel and Newton) and also startups and boutique wineries producing just a few hundred cases but with absolutely no quality concessions (Arietta, Bello Family, Carte Blanche, Francesca, Herold, Kobalt, Larkin, Priest, Rudius and Tor).    Continue reading →

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by | May 2, 2013 · 1:02 pm

Boutique California Winery Presents Their Wines at WinePoste.com

gandovaby Andrew Chalk

Manuel Pires may be angling to be living proof that to make a small fortune in the wine industry you should start with a large one. He has taken the wealth he accumulated as a successful tech. entrepreneur and spent it on 150 acres of prime land on Napa’s famed Pritchard Hill to create Gandona Wines. He also contracts with wunderkind winemaker Philippe Melka to produce just 2,000 cases of prodigious California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Despite being in business only since 2006 (the vines are much older – 20 years total – formerly being part of Long Vineyards) he has already garnered a reputation for quality and being a name to watch. His 2009 Gandona Cabernet Sauvignon was rated 97/100 points by the wine critic, Robert Parker.        Continue reading →

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by | March 18, 2013 · 11:38 am

Ruth’s Chris Tours Napa With Special Dinner

ruth'sby Angela Hopkins

Julie Miller, Wine Education Manager of Treasury Wine Estates delighted us with her knowledge of her portfolio including Beringer, St Clement, Etude, and Stag’s Leap at a recent wine dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Dallas. She greeted each of her guests with a smile. Her approach to the room was also comprised of interesting facts and of eye contact. While soaking in information, you really lose sight of her physically as she paints a picture worth more than a thousand words.

In a tour of the Napa Region via the sound of her voice, with intrinsic detail on the history of estates built, to fungus on dessert grapes, allowed for a virtual visual only a creative mind could absorb and appreciate. Ruth’s Chris and Julie Miller joined forces for a Tasting Dinner paired to perfection. The ambiance of Ruth’s Chris, combined with the efforts of Executive Chef, Thomas Holt explaining the prep for each course, gave way to a seamless setting. Beautiful people meeting for the first time, left with embrace and statements of “here is my number let’s get together soon.” This could only take place if the mood was properly established.      Continue reading →

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