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[portfolio_slideshow id=3421] Rainwater harvested from each year’s winter storms creates most of the water used in our winemaking process, we also have two wells. The water is first collected from our vineyard’s irrigation pond, makes its way to the winery, and then is returned—filtered—to the pond. Using ponds for ranch irrigation has many environmentally-friendly benefits. The California Agricultural Water Stewardship lists...

Wine-Searcher.com says that: Trinity County is one of California’s most northerly AVAs, just 65 miles south of the border with Oregon. The remote, mountainous county is better known for camping and fishing than for viticulture but unusual styles of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling are beginning to attract attention to the region. The county is almost completely covered with forests and mountains, and its settlements tend to...

There are four basic flavors that we taste. Sweet, salt, bitter, sour. How do the four tastes interact with wine and food? The different taste qualities either inhibit-suppress one another, or balance-compliment one another. Food and Wine Pairing Examples Sweet Complements Salt Sweet wines such as Port or Sauternes compliment Stilton cheese because sweet and salt balance one another. Sweet Suppresses Bitter Sweetness suppresses...

Pinot Noir is a red wine that sometimes thinks it’s a white because it’s crisp and soft enough to go with more “white-wine dishes” than most red wines. This is why Pinot Noir may be the ultimate food wine. Here are its classic food and wine pairing matches: Leaner meats (veal, chicken, turkey, rabbit, any game bird, filets of beef or pork, and a well-drained duck) Smoked, wood-roasted, braised or sausage meats...

In California, late September and early October can be a study in contrasts. It can rain early in the morning (Oh no! We were planning a barbecue!), by noon it can be sunny and warm (relieved sighs) and the evenings are cool – perfect for dancing. During this time of year, the general mood in our area is usually one of rest after the rush of harvest. The vineyards are empty of grapes. The aromas of fermentation are wafting from the...

September in vineyard country is filled with the smells of harvest. Trucks hauling gondolas bursting with grapes drop fruit here and there, and as cars pass over them, the aroma mixes into the air in a rich stew. As we drive along the road, the first smells of fermentation flow out along with elements from the heaps of grape skins waiting to be recycled into the vineyard topsoil. Everyone’s gardens are filled with eggplants, yellow,...