YOUR ADVENTURE STARTS HERE

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...

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 had the desire and the wherewithal ... 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...

"Life is too short to drink bad wine." That is on my wall at home. It's painted in bold all-caps on a piece of reclaimed wood in a fun crafty way that's really trendy right now. I can't say it's my favorite wine quote. But it comes in handy when I'm pondering an exceptionally satisfying Pinot at a ​winery I'm discovering in my constant quest to... well, discover more wineries. I bought the wall art in a tasting room that had plenty of clever wine sayings to choose from. At the time, I was on my third winery, and so it's probably understandable that my "Life is too short..." sign only narrowly ... Continue reading...

In November, I will be in Temecula Wine Country for the annual Harvest Celebration. Again. I do it every year, and It is a LOT more fun than starving myself, trudging up an incline burdened with supplies, and constructing a shelter to sit around in and be miserable. I'm not being random, people used to do that. Humans have celebrated harvest since our species' earliest recorded history. Ancient Greeks worshiped Demeter as their goddess of all grains, and honored her each Autumn in a festival called Thesmophoria. The ritualized three-day event included a strenuous ascent up a hill concluding ... Continue reading...