Quick - where were you when you first heard about Two Buck Chuck? It had that kind of an impact. A "premium" wine available for chump change. Hard to believe, but that was fifteen years ago. And even harder to believe that in that decade and a half, Trader Joe's has sold almost a billion bottles. Yes, with a "b." Charles Shaw wine was an instant sensation. Almost everyone had an opinion. Many scoffed. But many more rushed to buy it, often by the case. To some in the winemaking biz, it was a sign of the apocalypse. Their world was coming to an end - Charles Shaw was the mass produced ... Continue reading...

I’m drinking wine right now, which is not unusual, but what’s different is that I’m feeling a bit melancholy as I do it. One of Grapeline’s Sonoma hosts, Rufina, just sent me a photo of the Mayacama Mountains behind Kenwood Winery. The blackened slopes are a stark symbol of the enormous disaster that just occurred. The fires that swept through Northern California Wine Country this month go beyond disaster. They were a catastrophe on a level that’s historic. Based on the most recent reports I've seen, 42 people perished in the fires, making it the third deadliest fire event in California ... Continue reading...

Our great nation has never been more divided. But we are so much stronger when we recognize that we are all the same species living together on ​one planet, and ​that ​we have​ ​much to gain by working together. So, I beseech all who might read my blog: Put aside your differences and unite, whether you are a wine drinker or a beer drinker. ​ If you know me at all, you know that wine has ​​a special place in my heart, and a permanent place in my glass. Having said that, ​if I'm chomping on a mustard-smeared ballpark frank while watching Clayton Kershaw hurl a 94 mph heater down the pipe, ... Continue reading...

Before hearing what it actually was, I had already decided that a Summer Fizz Fest was something that I liked... a lot. Now that I know what it is, it turns out I was right, and if you keep reading you’ll know what it is too, and I’m pretty sure you’ll also like it a lot. Fizz Fest is an excuse to celebrate, concocted by people who love sipping wine out among the vineyards. It happens on Sunday, June 25, 2017, in Temecula Valley Wine Country. What’s being celebrated? I’ll get there, but first let me tell you what the celebration entails: a full-day romp through Temecula Valley, sampling ... Continue reading...

Here in California, a lot of really cool things have been started in a garage. Heck, this device I’m writing this on was dreamed up in one. So it’s not all that surprising that one of the wineries Grapeline frequents is home to a vintner who started his journey in a bathtub. Bryan Babcock, the only American named to a list of “Top Ten Small Production Winemakers in the World” by the James Beard Foundation, fermented his first cuvée in the bathtub of his UC Davis student apartment—from grapes that he’d stolen in the dark of night. The friend who helped him orchestrate the heist wasn’t a fan of ... Continue reading...

There are four types of wine people. Wine guzzlers, who’ll happily gulp down anything you hand them. Wine geeks, who care deeply about the science behind a great glass of wine. Wine enthusiasts, who want to know more, learn more, drink more and just revel in anything wine related. And then there are the wine snobs. Ah, the wine snobs. You know who they are. They only drink certain vintages. They know more than everyone else about anything wine-related. And, they look down their upturned noses at the amateurs who swallow at a wine tasting rather than snootily discharging each sample into the ... Continue reading...

How was Avensole Winery founded? Pop quiz. What do you do after you have served as California’s Assistant Attorney General, written westerns, and run a motion picture production company? The obvious answer: you open a winery. Well, at least that’s what you do if you’re Sheldon Lytton, the proprietor of Avensole Winery in the Temecula Valley. Sheldon, his wife Susan, and his sister Maribeth discovered Avensole, then named Van Roekel, in 2013. They immediately fell in love with the hillside estate winery with park-like grounds. Most people do. But the difference with the Lyttons is that they ... Continue reading...

One day the rain will stop. We have to believe that, just like we had to believe that eventually the drought would end, right? Well, whether or not we eventually get to put our rain boots away, I have two, fun one-time-only-so-you-better-book-today events lined up that should help distract you from the endless gray.   TEMECULA VALLEY BARREL TASTING Usually the wine you sample at wine tastings comes from bottles. Have you ever wondered what it tastes like straight out of the barrel or the tank? Wonder no more! I have the ‘in’ for a special little event for everyone looking for a slightly ... Continue reading...

This morning, I drank orange juice. If I had to describe what it tasted like, I'd say "orangey." Period, end of story. Wine is not like that. Right now, I'm seeking creative inspiration from a reliable muse - a slightly chilled glass of 2015 Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay. A vigorous swirl and then a deep, measured inhalation liberates aromas from a back-road fruit stand - green apple, ripe melon, and bright citrus. And also from grandma's kitchen - creme brûlée, baking spices, and a touch of melted butter. On the palate, this creamy gold concoction reveals flavors of tropical fruit, apple pie, ... Continue reading...

Last weekend I showed up to a party, proudly presenting to the host an exceptional bottle of Four Vines Zin from a recent tasting foray in Paso Robles, only to be met with a raised-eybrow when she noticed it had a screw top. Wine snob, amiright? And not even a legit wine snob. If you’ve been geeking out on wine closure technology lately, you know she was revealing not just her snootiness, but her ignorance too. When screw top bottles were first introduced back in the 1950’s, they generally topped the kind of cheap jug wine that was better suited to the stewpot than the wine glass. But a whole ... Continue reading...