Category Archives: The Pleasures of Tasting Wine

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Critter Bottles of Wine Worth Buying

A Critter Wine With Humor and Taste

Goats Do Indeed Roam In South Africa

Labeling your wine bottle as a ‘Critter Wine’ is one way to get consumer attention. And while we mainly focus on California bottles of wine, we recently wandered into the ‘Other Red Wine’ zone of our local wine retailer.

It was there we found a 2015 Goats do Roam (as in Cote du Rhone) and we started laughing. This winery produces cheese (explains the goats) and wine (goats love fresh shoots of greenery) thusly the critters will hop fences in search of greener pastures.

Of course, all fun aside, we did check the back to find out what it was made with (Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, Peitit Sirah, Cinsaut & Carignan.) Okay, a blend, were on.

It’s a very pleasant wine from the West Cape Of South Africa. Bottled in Paarl by Charles Back and his ‘Fairview Team’ it was well worth the $8.29 we invested. It is a blend on the drier, soft side, not a big bold red that Cabernet drinkers enjoy. You’ll find it at Total Wine or other wine shop of consequence.

Bill Hodge & Erin O’Neill-Hodge enjoy a good bottle of wine, visiting and enjoying California wineries from Lake County to Orange County, from the Paso Robles Gold Coast to Gold Country and from Lodi to Temecula.

 

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Wineries of San Diego County – Good So Cal Bottles of Wine

San Diego County Wineries Southern Coast’s Bottles of Wine From San Diego’s surfing beaches in Oceanside to Fallbrook, down through Escondido and east to Julian and Ramona and all the way out in Campo you’ll find winemakers creating interesting bottles of wine. It’s a continuation of the Winefication of California. As this region has become […]

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Reckless Wanderings At Total Wine

cloud break chardonnay

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Nosing Around An Unfamiliar Aisle Perusing The Chardonnay Offerings Let’s say someone wants to give you a good bottle wine and they gift you with the opportunity of choosing the bottle. Would you go down your list of favorites thinking of Zinfandels, Syrahs, Petite Sirahs or a GSM blend? Or would you take the reckless […]

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Old Vine Grapes – A Monster of a Plant

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Imagine bringing letters to a mailbox standing inside the evil aura of this grape vine monster. Grape plants like this have been growing in Lodi since the early 1900s. Last winter we spotted this plant on East Kettleman Street (Highway 12) on the east side of town. We wondered what kind of grape it produced. […]

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Stuck in Lodi Again – Looking for Great Zinfandel Bottles of Wine

The Center of the Universe For Zinfandel Bottles of Wine We always sing the praises of Lodi as the center of the Zinfandel wine universe. If you are looking for an interesting place to try new wines, make your way to this central valley farming town. It’s not the prettiest place, it’s not the coolest […]

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Early California Epicenter of Wine Making – Inland Empire

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Legacy California Bottle of Wine From Inland Empire Winery Most California winemaking migrated north years ago (with the exception of Temecula) but there was a time when the Rancho Cucamonga-Ontario area east of downtown Los Angeles produced copious bottles of wine. Driving around these areas today you’ll sometimes see open fields with rows of thick […]

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French Bordeaux – Tasting Bottles of Wine With Retailer Total Wine

California Bottle of Wine

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Old World Wines Vs. New World Wines Tasting French Bordeaux Wine A good California bottle of wine is a thing to celebrate, a joy many in our country and the world covet. And while these pages are dedicated to California wine, when we received a Bordeaux wine tasting invitation from Total Wine we accepted with […]

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Jessie’s Grove – Ancient Vine Zinfandel From Lodi

Old Vine Zinfandel Vine

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Does Ancient Vine Grape Produce A Great Bottle of Wine? Many people believe an ancient grape vine produces fruit leading to a superior bottle of wine. If this is so, Lodi is a grape growing heaven of California wines with plants over 130 years old. The central valley of California has been the fruit and […]

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California Central Coast Bottles of Wine

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California Bottles of Wine by Sans Liege Rhone Style Blending on the Central Coast A bottle of wine is comprised of earth, plant, weather and the winemaker’s knowledge and palate. In California there are myriads of variations of each giving us a bounty of wine. It’s what we call, ‘The Golden Age of California Wine.’ […]

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Comparing 12 Cabernet Sauvignon Bottles of Wine

Looking For A Classic Cabernet Bottle of Wine Comparisons of good bottles of red wine tend to focus on Cabernet Sauvignon. As you know from our musings we enjoy bottles of red wine ranging from Zinfandel, Syrah, Pinot Noir to red blends. While Cabernet Sauvignon is not our preference in a bottle of wine, we […]