Wine Stars

Wine Stories and News for the Young at Heart

Ross Valley Winery – A Millennial Favorite Tasting Room

(By guest author, Angela Atkinson) One of my favorite winery tasting rooms is a small, locally owned and operated winery in downtown San Anselmo. It has provided customers with some great wines since 1987. The winery has a warm and inviting tasting room in the front, but behind the scenes in back is where the alchemy happens -- truly a very cool place. The tasting room has a large vaulted ceiling giving in an open and spacious feeling while still feeling welcoming and unique. There is a small retail area with bottle openers, stoppers, and art from local artists. At the Ross [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-02T13:44:40-08:00July 24, 2009|

Professor Picks – Refreshing Summer Wines by the Pool

With the hot weather we’ve been having this summer in Sonoma County and other parts of California, I had a craving to taste some summer wines such as dry roses and off-dry muscats. I’m sure that some of this had to do with the fact that I’m currently reading the book, Extremely Pale Rose, which is a fun romp through the wine regions of France looking for the lightest pink colored rose wine. Anyway, I headed to some of my favorite wine stores and also had some wines donated by friends and we had a relaxed tasting by a swimming [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-02T13:45:14-08:00July 22, 2009|

Little Vineyards – A Favorite Millennial Winery

(By guest author: Alyssa Auerbach) Little Vineyards Family Winery is located on Highway 12 next to B.R. Cohen. It is a very small family owned and operated boutique winery specializing in handcrafted reds. The winery is somewhat hidden from the highway and has a very rustic and peaceful feel. It is only $5 to taste their fleet of current releases which includes Band Blend Track 3 (a red blend), 2006 Zinfandel, 2005 Syrah, 2006 Center Stage (a Bordeaux blend), and a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon; the tasting fee is waived if you make a purchase. The tasting room is very small [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-05T14:19:47-08:00July 13, 2009|

Matching Music & Wine – What Music Makes Your Wine Taste Better?

You’ve heard of food and wine pairing, but have you heard of music and wine matching? According to an informal focus group of 42 Women for Wine Sense members and guests at Nicholson Ranch Winery, the right type of music really can impact what you taste in the wine. We experimented with two wines – a chardonnay and pinot noir, and matched them to different music genres. Focus group members were asked to vote on their favorite. The results were amazing! The 2007 Estate Chardonnay on its own has a lovely nose of orange blossom with peach and butter on [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:28:17-08:00June 26, 2009|

Millennials Add Salt to Their Wine – Experimenting With the 5 Flavors and Chateau St. Jean Wines

(By guest author, Matt Lapides) The last wine club of the 2008-2009 school year celebrated by tasting a flight of reserve wine from Chateau St. Jean and enjoying the dynamic of a food and wine pairing hosted by the wonderful Tammy K. Wight. Tammy opened the meeting with a taste of the 2005 Sonoma County Reserve Chardonnay. It took four different private vineyards of chardonnay grapes from the best parts of Sonoma County to create the multi layered complexity of this glass. It had a finish that tasted like crème brulee. The 2005 Sonoma County Reserve Malbec was next. This [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:28:57-08:00June 15, 2009|

Favorite Millennial Tasting Room – Ferrari-Carano

(Written by guest author, Nyk King). I have been all over Sonoma County from tasting room to tasting room and there is one place that stands out in my mind as being the pinnacle of the Sonoma County wine experience. That tasting room is Ferrari-Carano, which is located at the north end of Dry Creek road. The tasting room has you in awe before you can even finish parking your car. There are huge swinging iron gates at the entrance. After you follow the road down to the parking lot, you will walk up the long path to the tasting [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:29:19-08:00May 18, 2009|

Truett Hurst Winery – A Favorite Millennial Tasting Room

(Written by guest author, Chris Spradling). Truett Hurst Winery is located in Dry Creek Valley. They are a relatively small winery with an emphasis on Biodynamic farming. I visited this winery during the barrel tasting weekend, and although I visited many on that day, Truett Hurst stood out from the others. The tasting room was nice and not too crowded, and outside was plenty of seating looking at the vineyards. There was a barbeque right outside of the tasting room where delicious samples of tri-tip were being distributed. The employees at Truett Hurst were noticeably proud and enthusiastic about their [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:29:48-08:00May 13, 2009|

Carol Shelton’s Tawny Monga – A Winner

Last week we blind-tasted sparkling and dessert wines in our Bus 305W class. The top California wine was Carol Shelton’s Tawny Monga -- a fortified zinfandel with some lovely residual sugar. The 38 Millennials who attended class that evening agreed that it was a luscious dessert wine and screamed for chocolate as a pairing. At only $33 for a 500ml bottle, this wine is a great deal for a lovely after dinner drink. **** 2005 Tawny Monga Zin, Carol Shelton Wines, Cucamonga Valley ($33, 500ml) Dark berry fruit with amazing spices of clove and cinnamon and hint of dark [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-05T13:53:50-08:00April 28, 2009|

Lucas Winery – Favorite Millennial Tasting Room

(Written by guest author, Kate Nelson). The most memorable wine tasting experience of the wineries that I have visited in the past few months has been at Lucas Winery in Lodi, California. Lucas offered the best wine tasting experience for me for many reasons. The staff at Lucas was extremely friendly and inviting -- and even for our Designated Driver made the experience enjoyable. We were welcomed right away upon entering. The tasting room was open and bright, and the bar was large and accommodating so that many different groups of people would still feel individual attention and not feel [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:30:41-08:00April 22, 2009|

Millennial Favorite Tasting Room – Benziger

(Written by guest author, Jessica Schmidt). Benziger is a beautiful property and receives much sunlight throughout the day! The tasting room is not right at the entrance as it is laid out to see other nature qualities to notice before the wine! However, when you step inside the tasting room it is well laid out and with plenty of exciting merchandise. The tasting bar is to your left as you walk down the few steps at the entrance. The counter tops and wine racks are all a dark cherry oak to make the focal point of the room. There at [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:31:00-08:00April 9, 2009|

Top 3 Wine Clubs in Napa/Sonoma – Best Picks By Millennials

The 40 Millennial students in WineBiz Class 305W at SSU were asked to analyze wine clubs in the Napa/Sonoma area and to select their top three favorites. Criteria were based on best practices in wine clubs and included the following: 1) Number of different club levels - at least 2 choices is preferable 2) Price ranges for each level – a variety of ranges is preferable from low to high 3) Shipping frequency – every 2 to 3 months is better, because lowers cost or discounted shipping 4) Club level by varietal preference e,g. red wine, white, sparkling, etc. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:31:26-08:00March 27, 2009|

Merlot Tenderness with Twomey

(By Guest Author: Matt Lapides, SSU Wine Club President) This week the SSU Wine Club was in for a real treat. Twomey Cellers presented their 2006 Russian River Pinot Noir and a three vintage Merlot vertical of 2003, 2004, and 2005. This was the first time the club experienced a vertical tasting. We started with the 2003 and it really represented how a great bottle of wine improves with age. Next was the 2004 and you could already see how the fruit characteristics started to taste brighter and more intense. The 2005 was their current release and definitely was the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-05T13:53:50-08:00March 19, 2009|

SSU Wine Club Tastes JAQK Cellars

(By Guest Author: Matt Lapides, SSU Wine Club President) This week the SSU Wine Club was hosted by JAQK Cellars. JAQK is a brand new wine line launched last October and they are hoping to open a tasting room and lounge within the next five years. They spell it J-A-Q-K because it stands for Jack, Ace, Queen, and King. Their bottles were not only pieces of art, but they looked like they came out of a deck of cards. The meeting was co-hosted by Joel Templin, the founder/owner, and Craig MacLean their master winemaker. Everyone had the opportunity to ask [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:32:19-08:00March 4, 2009|

Bus 305W – New Napa Winery Wins

Lastnight we had a blind tasting of 6 red wines. The purpose was to try to identify the four classic red grapes -- pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and merlot – by appearance, nose and palate. We also threw in two other favorites – a zinfandel and malbec – to make it more fun and challenging. Altogether 37 Millennials participated in the tasting, and we voted on our favorite at the end before revealing the label and price. The star of the evening was a cabernet sauvignon from a brand new winery in Napa! Read on for more details and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:32:53-08:00February 26, 2009|

Bus 305W Favorite White Wines

The 40 Millennials in Bus 305W tasted through 6 white wines recently in a blind tasting format. The purpose was to attempt to identify the classic varietals by color, nose, and palate structure. A classic varietal is defined as one which must “have manifested QUALITY over a long period of time, AND have done so in more than one place in the world.” Therefore according to experts such as Jancis Robinson and Karen McNeil, there are 5 classic white grapes: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, chenin blanc, and semillon. We also added a sixth grape which is quite popular with Millennials [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:33:22-08:00February 21, 2009|

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