Michael Benedict, speaking for the first time publicly since 1980 about the history of Sanford & Benedict (photo courtesy Baron Spafford)

Bordeaux varieties planted at Rusack's Ballard Canyon vineyard

Two more Santa Barbara County producers I visited last month whose wines greatly impressed me possess winemakers who are highly respected by their peers. Both winemakers -- Longoria's...

looking toward northern end of Santa Maria Valley from Bien Nacido

Santa Maria Valley is the country's third oldest official wine appellation, producing distinctive, balanced, cool climate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and...

Morning fog dissipating at Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley

Earlier this month, I spent five days in Santa Barbara County visiting wineries, talking with winemakers and touring vineyards, including...

What would you choose for a special meal if you knew it was going to be your last? This is a question...

Ever need a wine that will pair especially well with healthy food choices -- grilled vegetables, salads, light chicken and fish dishes? Could you use a fully versatile wine that goes not only with lighter...

Are you looking for a versatile wine you can enjoy with all kinds of casual food -- grilled meats, pastas, pizza? Would you like to find a "house wine" for under $20 that...

I wrote about the origins of California's heritage grape, currently the State's third most planted variety after Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, in a post here a year ago. Since then, the long awaited definitive tome on...

Drink Ribera Tasting in San Francisco, photo courtesy Drink Ribera

If you like rich, complex, high quality red wines, you owe it to yourself to get to know the wines of Ribera del Duero. The...

2013 In Pursuit of Balance tasting at San Francisco's Bluxome Street Winery

I attended the third annual In Pursuit of Balance tasting this month, an event that focuses on wineries "striving to produce...

steep hillside vineyard in Baden

I visited two German wine regions in the southern part of the country last year with a group of food and wine writers from around the world. The trip--which...

In the week we celebrate Valentine's Day it seems only fitting for a wine blog to acknowledge that the key ingredient in many of the...

Australia is the world's seventh biggest wine-producing country, ranking just below Argentina. It is also the fourth major wine exporting...

Bordeaux is unquestionably the source of some of the world's greatest wines -- ageworthy reds based primarily on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; dry, minerally whites blended from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon; and luscious sweet white wines...

Chile has been a strong source of value-priced wines since the late...

Is there any drink that better encapsulates the celebration, joy, brightness and sparkle of the holidays than Champagne? The pop of the cork, the clinking of glasses, the initial fizz of the mousse, the continuing column of tiny bubbles rising in the glass all...

At this holiday season, the kind of wines I am most thankful for are those made by dedicated, small producers in relatively tiny quantities based on particular, distinctive vineyard sites. One that I visited in...

Tablas Creek wasn't the first producer to grow Rhone varieties and make Rhone style wines in California, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important.

Tablas Creek was the result...

At more than 550,000 total acres, Lodi is one of Calfornia's largest appellations. It has more than 100,000 acres of vines, more than twice the plantings of the entire Napa Valley. Its first commercial winery, El Pinal, was built back in 1858. Nonetheless, the area...

terraced vineyards typical of Portugal's Douro region

For a relatively tiny country--smaller in area than the state of Kentucky--Portugal is a prodigious producer of wine. It has long been the source of some of the wine world's great fortified wines--Port from the...