There’s no possible way that I could ever review Terra in St. Helena without heavy bias: I know too many people in that restaurant — from the kitchen, to the GM, to the waitstaff — to maintain any semblance of impartiality. For similar reasons, I can’t really offer my unbiased opinions about Martini House, Auberge du Soleil, or Etoile at Domain Chandon, either. Of the people whom I know socially in the Napa Valley, most of them work at either of these three restaurants. But despite these personal connections, I don’t think there’s much harm in showing some pictures [... read more ...]
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I'm still due for a trip up to Diamond Mountain, although Sonoma is more likely in my near future. I'm working on all kinds of different projects, and should hopefully deliver something five days per week through the summer. Do stay tuned.   |
The BioDynamic vineyard at Ehlers Estate comprises 43 acres in total. In order to help amend the soil for the upcoming season, rows of vibrant yellow mustard alternate with verdant rows of grasses, fava beans and vetch. With rain subsiding, these same cover crops will assume a monotone shade of golden brown over the next month or so. In some ways, it’s almost embarrassing to heap lavish praise onto my favorite Napa wineries. I often feel as though I might be coming across as some sort of Napa Valley rah-rah, gushing with unbridled hyperbole, as if I were [... read more ...] Chappellet Winery sits atop 640 acres on Pritchard Hill, nestled among the Napa Valley's rugged Vaca Mountain Range. Red volcanic boulders, excavated from the vineyard over 40 years ago, remain piled under the great oaks in the distance. Living in the Napa Valley, I’ve discovered over the years that I’m still perfectly capable of rampant tourism. Case in point: I recently hosted some friends from out of town and accompanied them to seven Napa wineries in just two days. That’s quite a bit of wine tasting, although hardly a personal record; when I first moved to the valley, [... read more ...] 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 one day compile a list of favorites. In order to confirm their merit, I plan to eventually put all of these wines into blind tastings alongside a few of their $100 counterparts, just to see how they fare against the big boys (I suspect that many of these lesser-priced wines will easily rise to the top). But [... read more ...] I began taking blogging a little more seriously about a year ago, when I finally upgraded the Thirsty Reader from a static HTML page to a more fully functional website. Since then, I’ve attempted to keep pace with my own taste for the good life by sharing as many positive experiences as possible, whether it’s wine, restaurants, recipes, or books. The tricky thing about covering wine, in particular, is that new vintages can roll around in no time, and thus, there is an inherent pressure to not only discover new labels, but to also keep up with the old [... read more ...] |
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© 2010 The Accidental Wino |
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