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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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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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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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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Primal Roots 2010 Red Blend Acampo, California I love blends. They make me happier than wines primarily made of one grape. Together, the blend is smoother, more drinkable, although I assume an argument can be made that they lose character along the way. That may be the case with the Primal Roots 2010 Red Blend.
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Seigneurs de Bergerac 2010 Rouge Bergerac, France This red wine blend of French varietals has a nose full of leather and strong, jammy plum and cherry. Some vanilla rises up as well when sniffing. When sipping, it strikes me as very smooth with plenty of spice and chocolate. It comes across as Mexican in savoriness,
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St. Somewhere Petit Verdot 2010 Paso Robles, CA I was recently introduced to the petit verdot varietal at the Virginia wine tasting I attended at the Angus Barn in June. I was impressed with its versatility in those VA blends, but mostly, I enjoyed finding a petit varietal that wasn’t too tart for my palate.
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Cocobon 2010 Red Wine California   This is one of those wines I selected based on the label design, and I’m not ashamed. Look at how pretty that brown and beige label is! I love it. The taste ends on mildly sweetened cranberries, and it starts with milk chocolate and pomegranate seeds. Those fruit flavors
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Revelation Cabernet-Merlot 2010 Pays D’Oc, France This French blend comes across like a Spanish wine with plenty of spice in nice proportions. Those Spaniards can go overboard sometimes, so the balance is appreciated. The fruit is lovely, bright and young with raspberry and champagne grapes prominently featured. A bit of tobacco lends depth, and the
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La Vieille Ferme Récolte 2010 Rhone Valley, France This red table wine smells like a black raspberry gumdrop. It tastes like a liquid black raspberry gumdrop with hints of licorice and eucalyptus. The aftertase is all spice, mostly cinnamon. Some strawberry and vanilla also comes through. It’s a thin-bodied wine with exquisite layers, making it
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