Dr. Liz Thach, MW

Visiting Casanova di Neri Winery – Home of Award Winning Brunellos

Jan. 7, 2013 - Our appointment at Casanova di Neri Winery wasn’t until 3:30, so we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in Montalcino without being rushed. However, we ended up being late for our appointment because as the bus was heading down the hill towards the winery, we encountered a funeral procession with a priest and a cop leading it. The cop refused to let us pass, so we had to follow the procession for 20 minutes until they finally turned in the opposite direction. Viticulture Practices at Casanova di Neri Pier Luigi met us at the winery door and immediately [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:15:20-07:00January 25, 2013|

SSU Winesense Club Tastings Announced for Spring 2013 – Hold the Dates

Great news! The Board of Directors for the SSU Winesense Club held their planning meeting this past Saturday evening, Jan. 18 and agreed on the dates for Spring 2013 wine tastings. Please hold the dates! January 24th- Hook & Ladder February 7th, Williamson Wines February 21st- TBA Wine, Bianchi’s Bakery March 14th- Blind Tasting with Fetzer & Bonterra March 28th-Bryter Estates, Bianchi’s Bakery April 11th- TBA April 25th- Silver Oak - tentative The Board of Directors for Spring 2013 is as follows: President-Chelsa Robinson Vice President- Cassandra Childers Treasurer- Alex Lazuriac President of Marketing /Social Media- Alexis Vice President of [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:36:36-08:00January 21, 2013|

Visiting Montalcino – Hilltop City and Bastion of Brunello

Jan. 7, 2013 – As we left Florence to drive the 1.5 hours to Montalcino, the fog was just lifting from the city, and as we crested the hilltop with the bronze statue of David, we could look back and see all of the red-tiled roofs and domes of Florence gleaming in the sunlight. However the blue sky was short-lived as we headed south into Chianti Classico and the fog shrouded the bus again. It was only as we climbed the last twisting turns of the road into the small hilltop town of Montalcino that we burst out of the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:15:20-07:00January 21, 2013|

A Free Sunday in Lucca – City of Red Tiled Roofs

Jan. 6, 2013 – Since the 6th of January is an important religious holiday in Italy, we did not schedule any winey visits, and instead provided a free day. Many members of our group took the train the Venice, but Janeen and I decided to go to Lucca. We had both been to Venice before several times, but the city of Lucca was still unknown to us. I awoke rather hungry, as we didn’t eat any dinner the night before. We had decided to eat large lunches, and just have cheese and wine for dinner for the remainder of the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:15:21-07:00January 16, 2013|

Badia a Coltibuono – An Organic Winery in an 11th Century Abbey

(Jan. 5, 2013) - Before arriving at our 2:30pm appointment at Badia a Coltibuono, we stopped in the small town of Radda where Janeen had made a reservation to eat lunch at La Botte di Bacco Restaurant. This turned out to be one of the best meals of my trip. Lunch at La Botte di Bacco in Radda We started with a glass of local vermintino and a fresh salad mista. They served this with a big basket of mixed breads, including a very delectable mini-fried bread, which were addictive and hard to stop eating. In general, I usually do [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:15:21-07:00January 14, 2013|

Visiting Castello de Verrazzano in Chianti Classico Italy

Jan. 5, 2013 – The next day, we boarded the bus at 8:45 to drive to Chianti Classico and our scheduled visit with two wineries. On the bus, I provided a brief overview of the DOCG regulations for this region, including the mandatory 80% sangiovese rule with the remainder 20% up to the winery where they can use other grapes such as merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and the traditional caniolo and colorino. As of 2006, white grapes are no longer allowed in Chianti Classico red wine. We also reviewed the production method of the famous dessert wine of the region, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:15:21-07:00January 13, 2013|

Arriving in Tuscany and Walking Tour of Florence Italy

Jan. 3, 2013 – Our group of 28 California wine professionals left San Francisco at 7:30pm on Swiss Air Flight to Florence with a 2 hour stop-over in Zurich. Though a long flight with over 12 hours of flight time, Swiss Air was quite generous in giving us two meals and plenty of Prosecco as well as a house white and red wine. Everyone was quite excited to be going on a 10 day wine tour of Tuscany. We were met at the Florence Airport by our EF College Tour Guide, Linda, who efficiently loaded us on a bus and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:15:22-07:00January 12, 2013|

Why Italians Link Wine to Food — and Recipe for Florentine Beefsteak

This January we are taking 26 Wine MBA and Wine Bachelors candidates to Tuscany for 2 weeks as part of a Winter Intersession class on global wine business. Most participants currently work in the California wine industry, and are excited to learn more about the Italian wine scene. We will be visiting wineries in Chianti Classico, Montalcino, Montepulciano and Bolgheri, and staying in both Florence and Siena. For more information on the tour schedule, see: http://tuscanwinemusings.wordpress.com/ One of the interesting facts about Italian wine is its linkage to food. In fact, in Italy, the experience of drinking wine is not complete without food [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:37:26-08:00January 2, 2013|

2012 Annual Report for Winestars Blog

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here's an excerpt: 4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 14,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 3 Film Festivals Click here to see the complete report.

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:37:48-08:00January 2, 2013|

What Dessert Pairs Best with Sparkling Wine? Korbel & Bianchi’s Provide Some Answers

Erica Mandl of Korbel Champagne Cellars For the last tasting of the semester at the SSU WineSense Club, we focused on a holiday theme of sparkling wine and dessert. The beautiful Erica Mandl, head winemaker at Korbel Champagne Cellars, led the tasting by introducing five different Korbel bubblies. These were matched to delectable desserts from the new bakery in Rohnert Park, Bianchi’s. How Sweet is Your Sparkling Wine? Erica cautioned that it was important to understand the level of residual sugar in a sparkling wine, in order to determine the type of dessert with which to pair it. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:38:10-08:00December 16, 2012|

The Flourishing Missouri Wine Industry and Visiting Stone Hill, Home of the Norton Grape

Oct. 28, 2012 – I am in St. Louis for two days preparing to embark on a Mississippi River Board cruise where we will celebrate the Historic Wineries of America. As part of the pre-cruise outings, we spent an afternoon driving about one hour west of the city to the small town of Hermann, home to some of the oldest wineries in Missouri, including the famous Stone Hill Winery that I have wanted to visit for years. According to the listing on the Missouri Wine Roads app there are around 120 wineries in Missouri. They were primarily settled by German [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:22:33-07:00December 16, 2012|

Wine Judging Trip to Blue Mountains of Australia and Lillianfels Resort

October 2012 - During the second week of October, I was honored to be invited to participate in the Sydney International Wine Competition in Australia with 12 other wine judges from around the world. Two of us arrived on the non-stop flight from San Francisco to Sydney on Sunday morning at 7:30am and took a taxi ($15 with tip) to the Mercure Airport Hotel where they had reserved a day room so we could shower before meeting the rest of our group at 10am. We then boarded a small bus and drove the 1.5 hours into the Blue Mountains and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:00:34-07:00November 14, 2012|

Average Vineyard Worker Wages in South Africa – Emerging as a BRICS Country

Sept. 2012 - Several times throughout my wine trip to South Africa I asked winemakers the average wage they paid their vineyard workers. The answer was it depends on the region, as well as whether or not the workers have housing and benefits on the property. In terms of regional pay differences, it appears that Stellenbosch pays the highest wages at 170 Rand ($21) per day for a basic vineyard worker who does not live on the estate. Wineries in Cape Point and the Constantia region said they paid 120 – 150R per day ($15 - $18). In Swartland I [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:38:32-08:00November 12, 2012|

Average Vineyard Worker Wages in South Africa – Emerging as a BRICS Country

Sept. 2012 - Several times throughout my wine trip to South Africa I asked winemakers the average wage they paid their vineyard workers. The answer was it depends on the region, as well as whether or not the workers have housing and benefits on the property. In terms of regional pay differences, it appears that Stellenbosch pays the highest wages at 170 Rand ($21) per day for a basic vineyard worker who does not live on the estate. Wineries in Cape Point and the Constantia region said they paid 120 – 150R per day ($15 - $18). In Swartland I [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:18:24-07:00November 11, 2012|

Last 24 Hours in Capetown, South Africa – Diamond and Red Bus City Tour

Sept. 29 – 30, 2012 - After our tour of Meerlust, we returned to Capetown where almost everyone in our group caught night flights home. As a flight was not available for me, I checked back into the Cullinan Hotel and then walked downtown to go on the 30-minute free diamond tour at Jewel Africa. This was informative, and they explain to you how diamonds are mined, cut, where the term “carat” comes from, and provide an overview of the world’s most famous diamonds. On the walk back, I bought more souvenirs at a small street market (much better prices [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:18:25-07:00November 9, 2012|

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