Sonoma County Wine Regions You Should Know About

Everyone has a different level of knowledge about California wine, specifically wine regions. Everybody has heard of Napa Valley and probably Sonoma. While you can picture a valley for Napa it's hard to have a visual of what Sonoma is exactly -- a valley, a hillside, a mountain top, a sandy river bottom, volcanic rock? Well, yes, to all of those.

Wine Tasting Tip #10 - Courtesy

Common courtesy. It seems like a non-controversial subject. But you get a little alcohol in you and sometimes the common sense isn't what it should be. Or sometimes people just don't understand.

So I'm here to learn yah   :)

You Know You're from Sonoma County When ...

There are certain things any local knows and does. Some of these may help visitors.

Wine Tasting Tip #9 - Open-mindedness

Preconceived notions -- we all have them. They can be based on the opinions of others who've influenced you or can be based on your own experiences with wine and wine tasting. Maybe you want to leave them at home.

Beatles sing-along, "All you need is ..."

Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.

Not what you were expecting? Me neither--at one time. Pretty much everyone has their favorite kinds of wines. Usually that's based on style, price, or how you enjoy the wine (the setting). You might be mostly a Chardonnay and Cabernet drinker as these are the two most popular wines in the U.S. I find that Pinot Noir and Zinfandel satisfy most occasions for opening a bottle.

Friday Beer Funnies

Yeah, I know, this is supposed to be a wine blog. Whatever. We're having a hot weekend for the end of summer so I'm thinking about beer.

I call it, beer truths

Wine Tasting Tip #8 - How to Taste

You'd think it would be simple. Sure you can just tilt up the glass and swallow. However, if you follow these few tips you'll get a whole lot more enjoyment out of each wine.

Red Wine Headache

Do you get red wine headaches? It's not from sulfur compounds. Yes, wine labels have to say "contains sulfites" so most figure that's why the wine bothers them. Wines contain lots of other compounds, too.

A Storybook Love of Zinfandel

Maybe you haven't even heard of Storybook Mountain Winery. They're pretty small. It's just another reason I'm glad I live where I have access to so much great wine.

image from storybookwines.com

Storybook is celebrating 40 years in the business. It's a family business. They are just over the hill in Napa County very close to the county line with Sonoma. Part of what makes their wines so great is probably the cool ocean air that spills over the mountains from Sonoma into their property. So, hey, I figure they're actually more Sonoma than Napa!

It's all about Zinfandel. If you live outside of the Northern California Bay Area and think you know Zin, well, you maybe don't until you've had the Zinfandel made by Storybook Mtn.

Here's a nice article with a bit of the family history. Okay, they got the daughter's and son-in-law's last name wrong, but I assume the rest is pretty accurate.  lol

Reasons to Visit Sonoma County this Fall

Seven reasons to visit this autumn -- in pictures.

2016 Grape Havest Update

The Sonoma County wine grape harvest started in earnest in late August during several weeks of below average temperatures. There have been nice, warm temps for most of the past week or so to move ripening along. We are currently forecast for slightly below average temperatures for at least a couple weeks. This is probably a blessing to help prevent everything from ripening at once.

According to reports the county is less than 20% done (as to be expected this early in the season). But things are ramping up and the next several weeks will find things in high gear.

It's been mostly the early season crops of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir coming in so far. Quality looks good as does quantity.

Couple recent news articles
East Bay Times
Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Wine Tasting Tip #7 - Corporate Wineries

Some folks want to support local family-owned wineries. This is a great idea, but this doesn't mean the ones owned by large companies produce lousy wine. It doesn't mean if a favorite family-owned winery gets bought out by a corporation the wine will automatically go down hill.

Sonoma County Weekend Weather Forecast

The Kim Kardashian of Wine

Here's the deal with the Kardashian klan: No talent, but got rich and famous off unrelated "talents." So they all made lots of money with having no actual job skills. We support what we hate because we can't get enough and it pisses (some of us) off.

So is there a wine with no "talent" that we still love and hate at the same time? Yes, and you're not going to like this.