Tag Archives: wine

Family Matters: Winery Tour of Trefethen Family Vineyards Oak Knoll Napa Valley California

Posted on August 14, 2017 by waywardwine

Go to Napa or read the back of a wine label: most wineries will insist that a family owns them. This selling tactic attempts to ground all the Disney-land glamour onto something parochial and familiar. But family ownership is not unique, roughly 80% of wineries in Napa are. Nor does family ownership ensure smallness or quality. Gallo is a family. So are mafias. Heck, corporations are people these days.

Thus, I visit Trefethen with trepidation. They too point to the Trefethen family’s ownership as a defining feature. But is it? Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bats, beef, cabernet, chardonnay, drink, family, Food, grapes, heritage, Napa Valley, owls, travel, trefethen, wine | 4 Comments

Summer Wine Review: Lone Madrone The Dodd Paso Robles 2011 Tannat Red Blend

Posted on July 31, 2017 by waywardwine

It is hot. But we have steak, broccoli, and purple potatoes. That, and my mother-in-law has arrived with wines from Paso Robles: that warm, central coast Cali region that grows a wild diversity of grape varieties. Tonight’s offering, a red … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged California, drink, dry farmed, Grape, Lone Madrone, Paso Robles, rare, Tannat, travel, wine | 1 Comment

Drinking to Remember: Memory and Wine #MWWC34

Posted on July 25, 2017 by waywardwine

Memory and wine are odd bedfellows. We drink to forget, right? Those hangovers from downing two buck chuck definitely did not build more gray matter. That second (or third) bottle certainly wiped out a few evenings.

But good wine, hell, even just unique wine, can be a time machine. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Burgundy, Cheese, Cicero, drinks, France, memory, Monthly Wine Writing Challenge, mwwc, Space, Time, travel, wine, writing | 7 Comments

Cave Winery Tour at Jarvis Estate Napa Valley

Posted on July 25, 2017 by waywardwine

Our Napa Valley tour continues. After an extravagant whole day at Opus One (read here), we continue to dip our toes into this gilded pool with a stop at Jarvis Estate.

William Jarvis went from the Navy, to college and much travel, to found his own telecommunications company (you may have heard of HP) in Silicone Valley. Loaded, living part-time at his Chateau in France led him to wine. As one does, he bought an 1,320 acre retreat in SE Napa Valley, near Coombsville, and planted 37 acres of vines over ten years. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, chardonnay, drinks, Jarvis, Napa Valley, tourism, travel, wine | 3 Comments

A Second Round of Opus One

Posted on July 18, 2017 by waywardwine

My job has flung me back to Opus One. A year and a half ago my wife and I paired our eighth anniversary with a visit. After three hours, we left impressed but confused. Can a single wine, no matter how good, merit a whole facility and army of employees?

Well, time for the prodigal son to return. Continue reading →