Wines for National Hot Dog Day

Wednesday, July 16, 2025, is National Hot Dog Day which begs the question, what wine to pair with your dogs? I'm glad you asked.

Buying Zinfandel

Zinfandel has been called America's grape for a long time; long before DNA testing took it to Primitivo in Italy and farther back to an obscure grape in Croatia. If you really want to know the Croatian name for American Zinfandel, it's usually called Crljenak Kaštelanski, but sometimes Tribidrag. Hey, you asked.

Let's say you are looking to buy a bottle of California Zin. How should you go about that? Some help follows.

Vermentino in Sonoma County

Several Italian grape varietals are catching on in California, from Fiano to Barbera. The current hot one is Vermentino, as it's showing up in more wineries in Sonoma County, and around the state.

Pinot Noir Without Breaking the Bank

Specifically, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir from premium wine producers at low to moderate prices. Russian River is the primary region of Sonoma County for this wine, and a significant amount is produced. 

Avoiding Palate Fatigue

Palate Fatigue is when you've overindulged. It's not about becoming intoxicated; rather, it's physical and mental exhaustion. You've worn out your taste buds, and can no longer tell the difference between wines. The fatigue stems from physical from sensory saturation and the mental strain of concentrating on the various smells and tastes. Yes, wine tasting is hard work!

Winery Visitation is Down. What to Do?

There are a myriad of reasons and guesses as to why California wineries are seeing a downturn in visitors. These usually revolve around economic uncertainty including tariffs, a whiplash effect from the Covid lockdowns when online purchases shot up, higher prices for wine tastings, and younger consumers turning to other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. 

What are wineries doing, or could be doing, to counteract the loss of visitors? 

Good Value Wines From Sonoma County

These are a few picks of quality wines from Sonoma County that aren't too expensive and should be relatively easy to find in wine shops and big box retailers. There are more, these are a few I know about. 

What is Rosé Wine?

Whether it's Rosé All Day or Yes Way Rosé pink wine is the in wine. Some info about this wine phenomenon follows.

Retrenching in the Wine Biz

Some of the major players in the industry are reducing their footprint in the wine business. This is a sign of uncertainty in the future of the wine market. 

California Wine Industry in the 1920s

This is a snapshot of the wine industry 100 years ago. Why the1920s? Prohibition took effect in 1920 making it illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell alcoholic beverages. It wasn't against the law to drink if you acquired it legally. You could make your own hooch.

1920 was a big year for the country as Women's Suffrage was also ratified, giving women the right to vote. One small step...

Wine and Women

Women and their wine have a special relationship. Here's a sometimes humorous look at this culture.

Interesting Facts About Calfornia Chardonnay

A little bit about Chardonnay from California, the love it or hate it wine. It even has its own "club," the ABC or Anything But Chardonnay.