Posts belonging to Category Dessert

The name is Ruxin, James Ruxin. Jim has been selling the most collectible wines to a select clientele for decades. Getting on his customer list was once a bit like getting the unlisted phone number for Ma Maison. Except, what Ruxin has to offer is much different than what you got at the old A-list venue. Today it is easier to see what he has to sell. Just email him – jumruxin@yahoo.com – and asked to be put on his Village Wine of Brentwood mail list. (more…)

The 2010 Portland Independent Wine Festival that took place on May 8 is a very manageable tour de force that promotes hand crafted artisanal wines and winemakers. This is the second post on the festival which focuses on Byron Dooley, the enthusiastic and innovative winemaker and owner of the Seven of Hearts brand. [ed. pen and ink drawing above captures Dooley's Luminous Hills vineyard by Yamhill artist Terry Peasley] (more…)

Wine Festivals are a staple of the “wine industry”. Regions use them to promote their odd varietals which hopefully brings attention and sales to growers and wineries. Festivals are especially important when a region has the misfortune of being situated adjacent to Napa or Sonoma such as it is for the Anderson Valley where California’s best Pinot Noir is grown.
Oregon’s Willamette Valley does not have this problem having been branded as one of the superior regions in the world for growing Pinot Noir nearly 25 years ago when Domaine Drouhin set up shop in the Dundee Hills. These days only forgotten regions in Oregon such as Umpqua vie for recognition like “Oregon’s oldest wine growing region”. (more…)

Yessirree. We caught some bigguns over the Holiday. We also learned what to serve with paella…Spanish wines. Chad – sales guy extraordinaire from local emporium Woodland Hills Wine Co – played Santa’s elf and made sure we chose the right wines. We embellished with a couple sweeties and some cheeses only a Mouse would know about. All is reported below. This entry finishes the review of wines tasted over the 2009 Christmas and New Year holiday. Looking back, it must have been pretty good. This set was tasted under one roof on the same evening. (more…)

Being an SC football fan is a lot like loving Barolo and Burgundy. You hope every year will bring a championship banner but it just cannot be. Just like with Burgundy, we never really understand why every bottle labeled Chambertin is not championship quality. And, like USC football, there is always a year that just does not measure up to the highest expectations of the only team in this cow town that has a chance of realizing high expectations. Like 1995 in the Cotes de Beaune and Piemonte…nnhhh. Those Toe-jams just about broke Mrs. tBoW’s Cardinal & Gold spirit!
Thank goodness there is always The Bird. Thanksgiving approaches and we have to start thinking about wines to serve. Let’s be honest. I’m talkin’ Dotor√© honest. The tension is between serving the lumpen good wine while simultaneously matching a wine to the demands of an over-the-top meal. It’s like wine calculus! This day of celebration demands some great wines. We have the time to enjoy but we cannot throw pearls before turkeys. Or can we? [ed. how 'bout Ducks or Huskies]. It is the season of giving. Pour a decent Pinot Noir – Willamette or Cotes de Nuits – then follow it with an older Barolo. (more…)