SSU Wine Archives - Dr. Liz Thach, MW

Wine Tetris Blocks – How I Fell In Love with Wine

(Contributed by J. Onodera) My interest in wine is like a game of tetris, as the “blocks” slowly fell in place over time. It all started during spring break of my junior high school year, when I toured different colleges in the Northwest, one of them being Sonoma State University. As our tour group walked to the Wine Spectator Learning Center on campus, our guide mentioned that the university was the only one in California offering wine degrees in business topics, rather than the traditional Viticulture and Enology degrees. The idea of becoming a player in wine business sparked a sense [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:41:01-08:00June 9, 2020|

My Favorite Wine Tasting Experience at Caymus Vineyards, Napa Valley

(Contributed by K. Mead) My absolute favorite wine tasting was at Caymus Vineyards, one of the oldest Napa wineries, started by the pioneering Wagner family winemakers. Located just north of Napa in Rutherford, Caymus is situated amongst vineyards that produce some of the highest quality grapes Napa Valley has to offer. Each year they craft highly-regarded wines, such as their signature Caymus Cabernet. Outdoor Tasting at Caymus Vineyards. Credit: Meyer Sound for Caymus Vineyards Cozy Wine Tasting on a Cold Fall Day I had the pleasure of stopping by Caymus for a tasting in late fall of 2019. Grey and overcast, [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:42:49-08:00June 4, 2020|

Best Wine Tasting Experience at Serego Alighieri Winery in Italy

(Contributed by Gabriele Brusamarello) - My best tasting room experience was at the Serego Alighieri Estate, in the heart of the Valpolicella wine region in Italy. Located just a few miles away from the historic and magical city of Verona and beautiful Lake Garda, the winery estate was establish in 1353. It was a sunny and warm day in spring 2012, and I went to visit the winery with some basketball teammates since we were playing for the Verona basketball team. When we first arrived, we were surrounded by nature, astonished by the historic beauty and uniqueness of the location, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T19:47:56-08:00April 30, 2020|

SSU Wine Sense Club Welcomes Korbel – The Oldest California Champagne Cellar Dating from 1882

(Contributed by Itze Monserrat Pena) The SSU WineSense Club kicked off the Spring 2016 semester with a delicious tasting of sparkling wine and port to celebrate the romantic month of February. Obviously Korbel Champagne Cellars was a “natural” choice to invite to campus for an educational and fun tasting. A Little Bit of Korbel History Korbel & Bros. Inc. has an interesting tale that dates back to 1862 where believe it or not, the three Korbel brothers: Francis, Anton and Joseph founded Korbel to make cigar boxes in San Francisco, California. It was an immediate success, which led them to [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T21:47:48-08:00February 24, 2016|

A Glimpse into the Life of Bordeaux Buff Dewey Markham

Dewey Markham Contributed by Itze Pena-Andrade - This past Thursday, the WineSense club was very fortunate in that Dewey Markham Jr., an author and wine scholar, lead the club through a wine tasting of fine Bordeaux wines. It was an enriching and educational experience! Dewey Markham’s Wine Journey Dewey was born and raised in New York City where he attended and graduated from New York University, with a Bachelor's degree in English and a Master's degree in Cinema. During his late twenties, Dewey's professional direction turned to cuisine. After having worked as a cook for some time, he [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T21:48:31-08:00November 23, 2015|

A Tasting With Boutique Wineries Three Sticks and Hamel Family Vineyards

Contributed by Sophia Fish – The SSU Wine Sense Club was honored to host two unique boutique wineries this week – Three Sticks and Hamel Family Vineyards, both located in Sonoma Valley. Even better was the fact that both wineries have hired SSU wine business students. Katie Boyer now works at Three Sticks Winery and our Wine Sense President, Rachel Minor, works as an intern at Hamel Family Wines. Overview of Three Sticks Winery Three Sticks is a winery that succeeds with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Bill Price purchased Durell Vineyard in 1998, and went on to found [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T21:48:52-08:00November 10, 2015|

Raving about Rare Cat Wines at SSU WineSense Meeting

Contributed by Sophia Fish - The name of Rare Cat Winery was inspired by an ancient Carthaginian coin dating back to 320 BC, with a beautiful picture of a majestic lion on one side and the Goddess Tanit on the other side. Since the goal of the winery was to make “exquisite wines, something truly beautiful and a little hard to come by: in short something of a ‘rare cat’” this was a perfect symbol and name. Rare Cat Wines – The love of wine began in Bordeaux Sharon Harris is the owner and director of winemaking, and her passion [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T21:50:39-08:00October 27, 2015|

Passing Around Passaggio Wines at SSU WineSense Meeting

Contributed by Sophia Fish - Four generations ago Cindy Cosco’s family ventured from Italy to America. In 2004 Cindy, who spent 15 years developing a career in law enforcement, left to pursue her passion and create a new generation of wines. She then started Passaggio Wines, which in Italian translates to ‘passage’ or ‘pass from’. Cindy has three labels, one of which is her goodwill bottling, a small label is called Unmarked Wines. The name comes from her career in law enforcement, aspiring to be a detective and drive an unmarked car. She put these aspirations aside to pursue her [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T21:51:02-08:00October 19, 2015|

Sparkling Wine, Port & Chocolate Truffle Tasting with Mumm and Sonoma Portworks

SSU Wine Sense Club Tasting (Contributed by Erica Schreckenghaust) - Bring on the sparkle, chocolate, and the heady taste of port please! This was the siren’s call of a recent SSU Wine Sense Club meeting, where students were introduced to Olivia Najjar from Mumm Napa and Bill Reading from Sonoma Portworks! About Mumm Napa Most people recognize that Mumm Champagne was started in France, but Mumm has also been in Napa Valley for many years. The founding president and wine maker, Guy Devaux, worked with an architect in 1986 to create the Domaine Mumm facility in Rutherford. Three [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T21:59:01-08:00March 3, 2015|

SSU Winesense Board Confirms Spring 2015 Tasting Schedule

SSU Winesense Board at Annual Planning Dinner The wine tasting schedule for SSU’s Winesense Club has just been confirmed for Spring 2015 and the line-up of wineries is mouthwatering. Jan. 29 – The Magical Wines of Matanzas Creek Feb. 12 – Valentine’s Day Tasting with Sonoma Port Works & Mumm Napa March 12 – Big Reds with Styker April 9 – Innovative Wines with Delicato April 23 – Pinot Envy with Gary Farrell Meetings start at 7pm and are held in the Bennett Valley Room in the new Student Union Building. The Membership fee is $30 for the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:01:34-08:00January 30, 2015|