As I spent 2009 combing the Napa Valley for great wines (the one definite perk of living here and being in the wine business), I decided to pay special attention to the Cabernets that were priced at $50 or less, hoping to compile a list of favorites. As I have already done with some of [...]

Six wine professionals, including yours truly, blind tasted six Napa Cabernets this week, all from the 2005 vintage, and all hailing from the legendary Oakville appellation. The survey produced some mixed, yet interesting results. The list of wines was as follows:
• 2005 Tamber Bey Cabernet Savignon ($65)

• 2005 Groth Cabernet Sauvingnon ($58)

• 2005 Ghost Block [...]

If times are as difficult as people say, then Turnbull Wine Cellars should be on everyone’s short list of wineries to visit this year. Not only does the winery offer a terrific 2005 Napa Cabernet at just $45 per bottle, but its 2006 Old Bull Red, priced at just $20 per bottle, will prove to [...]

I’ve often acknowledged that my blog entries on Thirsty Reader comprise only what I find time to mention, and that they account for only a small portion of my excursions into wine country.  I happen to enjoy wine tasting, so I’ll visit dozens of wineries within a month, just for my own education. But even [...]

I had visited so many tasting rooms this summer that it was often difficult for me to keep this blog totally up to date. Keep in mind, what you read on these pages only represents a fraction of the entire story. Living in the Napa Valley, I’ve always had so much material to draw upon [...]