Dr. Liz Thach, MW

Pairing Wine With Bugs in Mexico – Crickets and Worms

Pairing Baked Crickets and Worms with Sherry and Sparkling Wine in Mexico. C. MONTOYA Though there are many creative wine and food pairings around the world, probably one of the most distinctive can be found in Mexico. At the recent annual OIV conference (43rd World Conference of Vine & Wine), held earlier this month in Baja, Mexico, both of the ‘Bug and Wine’ pairing seminars were completely booked. “We had over 50 people in the Sparkling Wine with Baked Crickets session,” stated Carlota Montoya, a wine educator and media consultant from Mexico City. “We paired four different sparkling wines with [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-07T16:07:57-08:00December 3, 2022|

Gundlach Bundschu Celebrates 160 Years Of Winemaking, Grape Growing, And Humorous Tricks

Humorous Trick to Share Sonoma Valley Wines on Napa Valley Wine Train in 1990. GUNDLACH BUNDSCHU In 1858 Jacob Gundlach immigrated from Bavaria and purchased 400 acres of land in Sonoma Valley, California to plant grapes and start a winery. Today, Gundlach Bundschu is considered to be California’s oldest continuously family-owned winery, with 6th generation, Jeff Bundschu, now at the helm as President. But the winery isn’t just known for award-winning wines, but also for its culture of fun, rock ‘n’ roll parties, and humorous tricks played on fellow vintners over the years. It was also on a Halloween evening in [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:19:50-07:00November 12, 2022|

Tantalizing Tempranillo Wine in Lodi, California

Bokisch Winery in Lodi, CA - one of the major producers of Tempranillo Wine in California. Photo Credit: Bokisch Tempranillo is often referred to as the “Cabernet” of Spain due to its widespread planting and its noble status as the backbone of Spanish reds. It is actually the 4th most planted wine grape in the world yet less than 1000 acres of Tempranillo are planted in California. Enter the Lodi Wine Region of California, where the Tempranillo grape is gaining much acclaim. In fact, there are already 10 different wineries in Lodi that specialize in making wine from the Tempranillo grape. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-11-12T15:32:33-08:00November 12, 2022|

Sonoma County Wine Auction Raises $1.8 Million For Charity – Totaling $40 Million Since Inception

Bidding at the 2022 Sonoma County Wine Auction at Chalk Hill Estate. ALEXANDER RUBIN The concept of a wine auction to raise money for charity is an ancient one – dating back to 1859 at the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy, France. Built as a hospital in 1443, the famous medieval building with its multi-colored tiled roof started the tradition by accepting donations of wine from local domains that they sold to raise hospital funds. Eventually it turned into an annual 3-day auction, which is still held each November. This wine charity model has been an inspiration to many other [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-10-09T13:29:33-07:00October 9, 2022|

Donum Estate Celebrates How Wine, Art And The Land Unite To Form Unique Wine Tourism Experiences

Richard Hudson's Heart Sculpture 'Love Me' Dominates Vineyards at Donum Estate in Carneros. DONUM ESTATE BY GREGORY GORMAN When Angelica de Vere Mabray took on the position of CEO at Donum Estate winery in mid 2019, little did she know that the visitor’s center and tasting room would effectively be shut down for nearly a year during the pandemic. But thanks to her 20+ years in the wine industry, a strong background in digital marketing, and a talented staff that was cross-trained to assume a variety of winery positions, Mabray and her team were able to create some of the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-10-09T13:31:50-07:00October 9, 2022|

Fine Wine Investing: How Cult Wine Investment Finds The Next High Value Wine And Region

Searching for the next great wine investment. GETTY It was a pleasure to interview Tom Gearing for this article. We had nearly a 2 hour interview via Zoom. He was so interesting and so enthusiastic, it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement of the special world of fine wine investing. This article was originally published on Forbes.com. Republished here with permission. Tom Gearing grew up in the world of fine wine with a father who was an avid collector, so it may not seem that strange the he founded one of the first wine investment firms [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-09-19T15:55:58-07:00September 19, 2022|

The Untold Story Of Helen Bacigalupi’s Wild Drive Over The Mountain To Deliver Sonoma Chardonnay To Chateau Montelena

Helen Bacigalupi at Age 96, Co-Founder of Bacigalupi Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma County, CA. BACIGALUPI VINEYARDS I really enjoyed reconnecting with Helen Bacigalupi again after all of these years. I first met her 9 years ago to interview her for my Call of the Vine book when she was 87, and now she is 96! She is still filled with intelligence, grit, drive, and a fun sense of humor. This story below was first published on Forbes.com, with permission to republish here. Go Helen! There is a well-known story in Sonoma County, California that the majority of the grapes that [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-09-19T15:47:34-07:00September 19, 2022|

Tasting the the Sagrantino Wine Grape In Umbria, Italy

The Historic Village of Montefalco, Umbria Surrounded by Sagrantino Winegrape Vineyards GETTY Ever since I tasted a glass of Sagrantino wine at Vin Italy many years ago, I have longed to visit the Italian wine region of Umbria - the birthplace of Sagrantino. Finally, this summer, I was able to go. In addition, to visiting the ancient hilltop city of Assisi, eating delicious food, and staying in one of the most charming AirBnB's ever, I was finally able to visit two of the most famous Sagrantino wineries in Umbria. Here I met with two winery CEOs, tasted their amazing wines [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:17:03-07:00August 31, 2022|

The Art Of Pairing Wine With Asian Food Taken To New Heights At Eight Tables Restaurant In San Francisco

Nine Essential Flavors of Chinese Cuisine Paired with Champagne at Eight Tables Restaurant JOSEPH WEAVER Pairing wine and food is often referred to as both an art and science. Wine seems to go especially well with local cuisine from the country in which it is produced, such as French or Italian wine with French or Italian cuisine. However, matching wine to Asian food flavors is often considered to be more challenging – especially dishes that have unique herbs, spices and flavors compared to traditional western fare. Yet at Eight Tables Restaurant by George Chen, hidden at the end of a [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-07T16:08:30-08:00August 31, 2022|

Tasting History In A Glass With Historic Napa/Sonoma Wineries From The ‘Cool Class’ Of 1972

A Few of the Class of 1972 Wines Served at 2022 Tasting. L. THACH This past week at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, six historic wineries from Napa and Sonoma gathered to celebrate five decades of fine winemaking as part of the ‘Class of 1972.’ Considered by some to be the ‘cool kids of California wine,’ these wineries were part of a cohort that helped to put California wine on the map. With such famous players as Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Burgess Cellars, and Jordan, many of these wineries were established fifty years ago this year, or within [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:19:50-07:00August 11, 2022|

Hot Wine Trends In the U.S. Market for 2022, Dollar Sales Up in 2021

Shopping for Wine in a Grocery Store. UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES A 2022 Gomberg & Fredrikson report, based on government tax paid data, shows that U.S. wine dollar sales in 2021 a surprising 16.8% over 2020. Total wine sales, including domestic and imported wine were $78.4 billion, compared to the previous year’s figure of $67.3 billion. Yet the reasons behind these increases suggest the wine industry still needs to focus on being more innovative and reaching out to new wine consumers. Fortunately, some of the most popular wine categories of 2021 point the ways to hot trends to consider capitalizing [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-08-11T16:47:20-07:00August 11, 2022|

Duckhorn Portfolio CEO, Alex Ryan, And Team Discuss The IPO Journey And Lessons Learned After First Year

Alex Ryan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman for The Duckhorn Portfolio. THE DUCKHORN PORTFOLIO, WILDLY SIMPLE PRODUCTIONS Duckhorn Portfolio Inc. (NYSE: NAPA) posted its third quarter earnings today for the three months ending April 30, 2022. Since its successful IPO on March 18, 2021, with an initial stock price $15 per share, the portfolio of 10 luxury wine brands ranging from $25 to $200 per bottle, has performed admirably. Today’s financial results support this trend with net sales of $91.6 million, an increase of 1.3% versus the prior year period, and adjusted EBITDA was $32.9 million, an increase of 2.9% [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-07-02T15:23:18-07:00July 2, 2022|

From Foot-Stomping Grapes To Robots, Clos De La Tech Winery Embraces New And Ancient Technology

Clos de La Tech Pinot Noir Vineyard in Santa Cruz Mountains with Pacific Ocean in Distance. THACH In the 1990’s, T.J. Rodgers visited the tiny village of Vosne-Romanée in France and fell in love with the Pinot Noir grape used to make red Burgundy wine. Inspired by the taste of these wines, he decided to plant one acre of Pinot Noir grapes in the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA (appellation) near his home in Woodside, California. However, as the CEO of Silicon Valley based Cypress Semiconductor, he made the novel decision of combining ancient winemaking practices, such as foot-stomping of grapes, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-07-02T15:17:18-07:00July 2, 2022|

Rare Video Interview With Ernest Gallo Reveals Rags To Riches Story Of The World’s Largest Wine Corporation

Marvin R. Shanken and Ernest Gallo in 1999 Interview. KENT HANSON/WINE SPECTATOR In 1933, upon the death of their father, Ernest and Julio Gallo took over the family vineyards in Modesto, California, and discovered that they had been mortgaged to the hilt. “My father left the small vineyards hopelessly in debt,…and we were on the verge of losing them,” commented Ernest Gallo, in a rare video interview with Marvin Shanken, Editor & Publisher of Wine Spectator. “We thought that by going into the wine business - taking the crop and converting it into wine - we could probably get enough to [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-06-04T16:35:45-07:00June 4, 2022|

Caprio Winery’s Unique Business Strategy Encourages Customers To ‘Pay It Forward’

Dennis Murphy, CEO of Caprio Cellars and Hayden Homes. CAPRIO CELLARS - GREG LEHMAN Dennis Murphy’s earliest memory of the joy of giving was when he was a child and would wrap up his favorite toys as Christmas gifts for his brothers and sisters. That same sense of generosity stayed with him when he launched his first company, Hayden Homes, with best friend Hayden Watson. Based in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, with every home sold they contribute 10% of profits to charity, resulting in more than $32 million to charitable causes through 2020. So when Murphy decided to expand on [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-06-04T16:29:46-07:00June 4, 2022|

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