A Sommelier's Guide to Wine+Food
First Step: Discovering adult beverages — Whether the first drops of alcohol come from Mom and Dad’s liquor cabinet or out of a hose at a frat house, we all get our sea legs and learn the hard way. Chances are it’s not with the good stuff, but rather something cheap that’ll get the [...]
Over New Year’s my wife and I were talking about how fun it would be to take a quick trip to Seattle in 2012. When I lived in Portland, Oregon I used to visit Seattle all the time but Mrs B had never been. Seattle is one of my favorite cities in the world, and [...]
Several years ago there was a blind tasting pitting Colorado wines against California wines. A handful of Master Sommeliers tasted 3 whites and 3 reds from each state to see how Colorado wines stack up. Wouldn’t you know it? The Colorado wines took first place in the white and red category. At that time I [...]
Randall is the longtime visionary winemaker for Bonny Doon winery as well as author of Been Doon So Long. I recently had a chance to sit down with Randall at his winery and taste through some 2009′s in tank. Randall would be fun to talk to on just about any subject, but in this first [...]
Sommeliers the world over have turned their backs on stocking their cellars with that same old swill from Bordeaux. Forget Burgundy, no one can afford it anyways. Collectors are stocking their cellars with the hottest collectible wine in 2012 — Zinfandel. Zinfandel, known for its aging potential is taking over America’s hearts and minds. This [...]
Jane Portalupi and her winemaker husband, Tim Borges met as kids in northern California over thirty years ago. As grown ups they married and started Portalupi Winery in Healdsburg, California. Tim and Jane set out to craft wines worthy of their Italian heritage yet stay true to their location in Sonoma. I love working with [...]
About an hour southwest of Barcelona is Spain’s Priorat wine region. With centuries of history and its proximity to a major city you might expect an experience much like driving to Napa from San Francisco. But upon arriving in Priorat, you’ll discover a unique place that history seems to have forgotten. Immediate impressions of the [...]
Back in 1987 five friends got together with a vision to create a winery in Mexico that would be at a luxury level, yet be inherently Mexican. Hans, Richard, Eric Manuel and Tomas found a plot of land approximately 300 miles south of San Diego and 30 miles inland from the Pacific at an elevation [...]
Each year everyone comes out with their top 100 wines list. They’re fun to peruse to see who picks what, but honestly how do rank 100 wines? And what’s the criteria that goes into picking them? This year I decided to pick my favorite 12 wines Related Articles: Colorado Cabernet — Come on Down! 2009 [...]
When I’m not leading the Rebellion you can find me at home making bite sized Admiral Ackbar’s snack bars. They make a great finger food to serve as guests are coming out of hyperdrive and docking at your ship. I like to serve them with Rylothian Yurp so you won’t get too filled up but will enjoy spice on spice action.