This is the first of several posts covering my experience at the Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC14) held in Buellton, CA, last weekend. I’ll feature one per week, likely through August, and why not start with what’s most important to me? Naturally, that’s the wines themselves. Over the course of the conference, I tasted around 70
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At Christmas, my husband bought us passports from the Santa Cruz Mountain Wine Growers Association (SCMWGA). These passports, filled with over 50 participating wineries, entitle the bearers to one free tasting at each spot during normal operating hours or the SCMWGA special Passport Days, which happen four times a year and are the best opportunity
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For Christmas, the darling husband bought us Santa Cruz Mountains wine passports, an excellent gift. I wasn’t a wine drinker when I lived in Santa Cruz, so now that I’m in the Bay, I’ve wanted to try what that designation has to offer. Plus, any excuse for a weekend in Santa Cruz is a good
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Homewood Winery Merlot Port 2010 Dry Creek, CA I picked up this bottle on a recent sojourn to Sonoma from the one vineyard we ventured to on a quick day trip to the region. I thought the merlot port delicious in the tasting room, and I’m interested to see how it stacks up when drunk
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My first visit to Sonoma took place a few days before Thanksgiving 2013. It was a quick jaunt into the winery-laden countryside not so far from San Francisco. The downtown area is very cute, full of alleyways and courtyards that hide a range of stores and tasting rooms. Of course, I managed to eat and
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Fat Grape Winery 2010 Merlot Northern California I posted recently about what I’d recommend for a foodie day trip to Treasure Island. Fat Grape was the sulfite-free winery we visited that offers a zillion different types of wine to taste for free. The Fat Grape 2010 Merlot was one of two wines that impressed me,
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On the last full weekend of every month, the Treasure Island flea market takes place. It is a great excuse to check out Treasure Island for foodies, because the flea market brings a lot of food trucks with it to what is otherwise a barren land for munchies. But it’s never a barren land for
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I came across the Barrel Room on a night out with an old high school friend, which pretty much describes every night out I’ve had since moving to the Bay Area—I have a lot of old friends to rediscover in this neck of the woods. We wanted somewhere to extend the evening but still hear
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Edna Valley Vineyard 2011 Merlot Central Coast, CA This merlot’s nose has plastic overtones, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying its raspberry and pepper notes. It’s thin to medium bodied and meatier than expected on drinking. Think nicely seasoned duck with a spicy raspberry and stewed tomato sauce. That pepper will tickle your nose!
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2010 Fetzer Crimson Winemaker’s Favorite Red Wine Blend Mendocino County, CA I admit to reticence when trying this wine, not knowing if a big label’s wine was up to snuff at under $10. Plus, there were a lot of words on that label, which frankly can be off-putting for those not that skilled in wine-label
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