The holidays are a chance to make the world smaller as we open hearts and homes to family and friends and, hopefully, to perfect strangers as well. This Thanksgiving, I met cousins from Germany I didn’t even know I had, and unsurprisingly, we bonded over wine. It’s the [...]

Harvest 2019 seemed endless to many. At last, it’s finally over. John Aver of Aver Family Vineyards finally brought in cinsault, mourvedre and petite sirah. Of 2019, he said, “I like the quality of the fruit, and acids and sugars seemed very balanced for the most part, but [...]

When I dropped in at Church Creek Cellars on a warm November Saturday, the parking lot was near full and the place was filled with many happy patrons being served by a welcoming staff. Among them were three gents named Carl, Ray and Rich, who make the wine at Church Creek [...]

Santa Clara Valley wineries offer everything you need for your Thanksgiving feast, from sparkling and pinot noir to grenache, sangiovese and beyond. Begin with zingy-fresh 2018 Jason-Stephens “Pixelated” Rosé of Sangiovese and Alara Cellars sparkling, followed by Alara 2017 [...]

Ask anybody about the 2019 harvest in the Santa Clara Valley and they’ll tell you it’s been late and protracted. Kim Englehart of Lion Ranch shared, “It’s been challenging; every piece of equipment seemed to have an issue at least once.” They are still waiting on [...]

Jerry Lohr recently celebrated 45 years as the head of a 100 percent family-owned wine business that eschews outside investors. His children are all involved, also a rarity. Daughter Cynthia Lohr was just named chief brand officer. Consistency, quality, varietal typicity and [...]

It’s easy to fall in love with the sleek, eye-catching Alara Cellars labels that flaunt high fashion better than most ads in Esquire magazine. Besides which, Janu Goelz’s wines are aromatically refreshing compared to the horrid cologne samples the magazine exudes like the [...]

Stefania Romero and her husband, Paul, have been at their Day Road location for five years now. Their tasting room is pure Americana barn, furnished with reclaimed local barnwood and anything else that Paul could find by reaching out on Nextdoor.  There’s a beautiful old [...]

Musical chairs has been the theme for tasting rooms in South County this year. We asked Jeff Fadness of La Vie Dansante to set the vinyl straight. Fadness said Blended, A Winemaker’s Studio, functioned exactly as originally intended, as an incubator for new wineries to make [...]