Malibu Wine Country…what makes it so different from anywhere else in the Golden State? Besides the Mediterranean stretch of coastline with the ubiquitous “Tuscan villas”, superb surf breaks, and Hollywood folks…really nothing at all. Especially when it comes to winemaking it’s just another region with the same issues. (more…)

Argentina is U20 nirvana!! This post continues our report on the Argentina wineries tasting hosted by the Argentine Promotion Center in Los Angeles. All six wineries that showed were very good. However, four stood out as especially fine.
La Garde Winery presents itself as the old guard of Mendoza wineries…which it is [ed. pictured below]. They claim and aim to represent the long established tradition of fine winemaking in Argentina where terroir comes first. The winery was founded by a Spanish family in 1897 and sold to an Italian family in 1977. (more…)

Who knew Argentina has a Promotion Centre in Los Angeles. Consul Adjunto Jose Cafiero sent out invitations to the right people who showed up on a lovely early fall late afternoon to check. Sr. Cafiero promoted six Mendoza wineries that would love to be represented in Los Angeles. All they need is an importer and/or distributor.
tBoW documented a March 2008 Argentina trip that left a powerful impression of the wonderful and abundant wines, the perfect growing (more…)

Lets’ get something straight. The idea that the quality of a wine increases in lock step with its price is specious. It should be obvious to readers of this blog that there are plenty of good to very good to downright ridiculously good wines that cost less than $20. We cover a few (of course) on this post. However, the suggestion that the cost of a bottle of wine is a necessary and sufficient condition denoting quality is…..what is the word…..S-T-O-O-P-I-D.
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With Spring and Summer comes wine festival season. With so many many to choose from tBoW presents two festivals worth your consideration. How is a wine festival like a golf tournament? If you like golf you must go to a tour event at least once, see the pros hit the ball, make tricky putts, eat a hot dog. If you like wine then you should probably attend an event where the wineries are pouring their best stuff, you can attend an exclusive dinner in a winery, and talk to the winemaker over sips. [ed. photos show the Pipestone corner of paradise, the 10 acre vineyard and the wonderful owners/winemakers/farmers Jeff and Flo] (more…)

Winemakers are somewhat like doctors. There is a lot of talent in the pool but the great ones are uncommon and especially hard to find because there aren’t any bad winemakers. Think about it. Who ever says “I have a horrible doctor” or “she is an awful winemaker”. There ain’t no sech animal. [ed. here is a doctor right now who knows the difference - and where he belongs - in front of Kenneth-Crawford "winery" in Buellton]
Family docs (like big house winemakers) are never stars. We need them and value them but all we are looking for is reliability over time, no diagnostic mistakes, and the ability to make a good referral when one is needed. The grind-it-out primary care guy keeps the whole thing going but the specialists are the stars. In wine their equivalent is the boutique winemaker. If you ever needed a surgeon or a specialist, then you will recognize how everybody you know wants to send you to their knee guy or shoulder cutter who is always “the best” in his field. How do you really know? How can every specialist – or every boutique winemaker – be the best? (more…)

The power of the subconscious has revealed itself to me. tBoW thought he was writing about three very nice wines and it turns out, in retrospect, he was writing about his three favorite and most reliable wines and wine regions in this current economic collapse. They represent the best in the cellar, the best U20 [ed. criminittly! it's a U10!] of what can be found with a bit of labor, and the best wine-for-wine region year in and year out. To summarize…value, perfection and the steal of 2009…so far. (more…)

Movies are not at all like wine even though analogies are easy enough. Movies are widely accessible inspiring a wide range of opinions by many; unlike wine which is often intimidating to the general public with opinions widely offered by a few experts. Films are transitory. Very few have staying power. While one seldom returns for the same exact bottle of wine a seasoned wine consumer learns to look for wines by the same producer or importer. Following films made by a particular director who gets the benefit of the doubt is the same as wine selected by importer Robert Chadderdon just because they are Chadderdon selections. (more…)

The Perseid meteor shower in mid August seemed like a great excuse to return to the Villa del Valle in Guadalupe Valley, rest a bunch, watch the llueve de estrellas and shop in Ensenada and Rosarito. The Missus conspired to visit wineries we had missed the first time…and tBoW was impressed! This is harvest time so the vines are heavy with fruit. (more…)

Tension builds as we await hot summer nights in Los Angeles that go so well with BBQs, lounging outside, dinner with friends and all kinds of wines. You can tell folks are getting restless when Memorial Day arrives with a full dinner party calendar. We attended two and, what a surprise, wine was the theme. One was a little more structured featuring Argentina wines and wine glasses with the tBoW URL!!!and our host’s names in larger script – go figure. The second was more informal meandering through a cellar that needs purging. tBoW was careful to take notes for your information. (more…)