Wine Stars

Wine Stories and News for the Young at Heart

Not Just Your Average Canned Wine – Tips on Finding the Right One for You!

They are everywhere: from Trader Joe’s to online stores, pop-up bars to your friend’s party. Since Sofia Coppola’s pretty pink cans of blanc de blanc sparkling debuted in 2004, canned wines have exploded especially in the past few years. According to Nielsen, canned wine sales grew 69% year-on-year in 2018, and 79% in 2019. The variety is now diversified to seltzers, wine coolers offering “zero sugar” and “lower alcohol” options, even sake and more. Sofia Coppola's Brut Rose. The Case for Canned Although canned wines often have no vintage, specific AVA or vineyard, and are not meant to age like [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:33:05-08:00July 2, 2020|

How a Winery Nearly Destroyed By Wildfires and Ravaged by COVID Still Manages to Enchant Visitors

(Contributed by Avery Shive) I’ll never forget my first visit to Soda Rock Winery, located in Sonoma County outside the town of Healdsburg. My mother, two sisters and I had planned a glamorous girls weekend visiting top tier wineries in California Wine Country towards the end of November 2019. Our goal was to have fun, but to also support the wineries by visiting after the devastating fires that swept Sonoma County in October. Avery and her sisters at Soda Rock Winery after Wildfires Wildfires Rage Over Soda Rock Winery When we heard about the affect the fires had on Soda [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-30T21:33:33-08:00June 30, 2020|

Hey, I Want to Taste the Moscato in the Blue Can!

Just in time for summer, New Jersey-based Royal Wine Corp. is releasing one of America’s most popular Italian-imported Moscatos, Bartenura, in a new format of 8.5 ounce cans – about 1.7 glasses per can – in packs of 4. Bartenura was one of the first premium Moscatos in the U.S, with continuing growth every year since it was introduced in 1980s. Credit: Bartenura Refreshing Summer Drink With a refreshing with a hint of sweetness, slightly effervescent and relatively lower alcohol content of 5% ACV, Bartenura is a perfect summer drink. Royal Corp has been trying to find alternative packaging formats for Bartenura [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:33:56-08:00June 25, 2020|

BRAND Napa Valley Launches #FromBRANDwithLove Giveback Sharing Package

Pritchard Hill winery, BRAND Napa Valley is running a giveback program, #FromBRANDwithLove for customers and Covid-19 first responders around the nation. Sharing the gift of wine, the “BRAND Care Package” is essentially a buy-1-get-1 for customers to spread the love with a distinguished bottle of wine and send another to a first responder as a token of appreciation for their selfless service. Credit: BRAND Napa Valley, at Harvest 2019 BRAND Care Package With the purchase of a $150 “BRAND Care Package”, worth $300 in value, customers receive a bottle of the prestigious 2016 BRAND Napa Valley BRIO Red Blend—an estate produced Bordeaux-style Red Blend [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:34:22-08:00June 14, 2020|

Frank Family Vineyards Welcomes You Back to Napa with “Sweet Caroline” Parody

Frank Family Vineyards reopened for in-person, by-appointment tastings on June 10th. The entire Frank Family team celebrated the winery reopening with a music video parody of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”, featuring Patrick Davis of Songwriters in Paradise on guitar and vocals. Frank Family’s Marketing Manager Marisa McCann wrote the lyrics, covering their new safety protocols in light of COVID-19 regulations, such as limited party sizes, outdoor seating, and requirement of personal face coverings. A Snapshot of the Welcome Back "Sweet Caroline" Parody. Credit: Frank Family Vineyards Welcome Message From Owner Rich Frank “While the world has changed, our passion for [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:35:44-08:00June 14, 2020|

Historic St. Helena Winery Charles Krug is Now Ropened For In-Person Tastings

On June 9th, Napa’s oldest winery, Charles Krug reopened its St. Helena estate adhering to local guidelines, after being closed since March 16th in compliance with California’s statewide Shelter-in-Place order. The reopening comes with a variety of new protocols that go above and beyond county and state recommendations to ensure health and safety for everyone. The New Cabana at Charles Krug for Safe Wine Tasting. A Pleasant Physically-Distanced Wine Experience 5 new WiFi-enabled cabanas within the winery’s Picnic Grounds will be unveiled with the reopening. Although the cabanas were already under construction before the Pandemic, they are particularly timely to [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:38:07-08:00June 11, 2020|

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|

Vin Piscine – The New Exciting Trend of Swimming Pool Wine

I first encountered “Vin Piscine” last year in South Africa on a very hot January day in Johannesberg. Being the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons of South Africa are opposite of North America, and I had spent the hot and humid day on a tour of the city. By the evening, I was ready for a cool glass of chenin blanc wine, but was surprised when the small outdoor café where I went for dinner brought me a bucket of ice, tongs, and my wine in a large balloon glass. Looking around the café, I saw other people with similar glasses [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-30T21:41:27-08:00June 7, 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|

Hike, Picnic and Taste Wine at La Crema Winery’s New Outdoor Tasting Experience

As wineries slowly start re-opening in California, many are getting creative in the types of experiences they offer, because currently most tastings must be outdoors and include food. With this in mind, La Crema Winery took advantage of their beautiful Saralee’s Vineyard property to offer walking tours and picnics in the relaxing gardens surrounded by rolling vineyards. Guests must make a reservation online in advance. When they arrive, they are provided with a map of suggested walking trails to explore the vineyards and take in the beautiful vistas of the Russian River Valley. Upon conclusion of the walking [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-30T21:44:29-08:00June 4, 2020|

Wine Tasting in Paris and Falling in Love with Champagne

(Contributed by K. Lewis) - My favorite tasting experience I have ever had was during the Summer of 2017 in Paris, France. I went on this trip with my mom and aunt, and after exploring the city throughout the weekend, we ended our trip with a wonderful Champagne tasting on a small boat sailing down the Seine River. The tasting consisted of three different Champagnes. I knew I really liked wine at the time, but this was one of the first times I remember gaining an understanding of the fact that different types of sparkling wine actually taste very distinctive [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-30T21:44:56-08:00June 2, 2020|

Pink Prosecco is Coming in 2021!

Great news! If you enjoy Prosecco, a new “pink version” called Prosecco DOC Rosé will make a sparkling debut in 2021. This past week the Prosecco DOC’s trade Consortium announced the hallmark decision by the Italian National Wine Committee to finally approve introduction of Prosecco DOC Rosé after years of discussion. A Glass of Sparkling Pink Prosecco Rules for Producing Prosecco DOC Rosé While sparkling rosé wines are nothing new, Prosecco DOC wines, like Champagne, is a protected designation in which wines must follow strict regulations (such as percentage of grape varieties used and fermentation methods) to be labelled as [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:45:45-08:00June 2, 2020|

How Does Casarena Winery Produce Such Distinctly Different Argentinian Wines?

Nestled on the sandy soils of Luján de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina, Casarena Bodegas y Viñedos is recognized for its single vineyard wines, with an estate that encompasses four vineyards each with its own distinctive micro-terroirs to create seven varietal wines for its flagship line, Casarena Single Vineyard wines. Casarena's sandy vineyards below the Andes. Credit: Casarena Winery & Vineyards Winemaking expertise Combining rich tradition with expertise in wine growing and winemaking, including collaborations with Michel Roland and his team, single blocks of high-quality and low yield are identified. 30% of the grapes are fermented in new French oak barrels, [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:46:21-08:00May 26, 2020|

Famous Tuscan Winery Releases New Vintage with Focus on Sustainability

In April, world-renowned Ornellaia Winery in Tuscany, Italy, released its Grand Vin, Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC Superiore 2017. The name “Solare”, “radiant” in English, was chosen to define this vintage – unusual frost, heat and drought extremes, which nonetheless resulted in an elegant wine of bold personality. Ornellaia Solare 2017. Credit: Ornellaia How Does Ornellaia Solare Taste? Estate Director Axel Heinz remarked about the surprisingly harmonious wine crafted by winemakers’ gentle handling of slightly younger grapes. Solare has characteristic notes of liquorice and blackberries with velvety tannins, yet rich acidity and roundness with “Mediterranean sumptuousness”. From an Unpredictable, Extreme Climate A stark contrast [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:49:55-08:00May 21, 2020|

Wine is My Love Potion: Adventures as a Harvest Intern

(Contributed by Alexandro Gomez) Wine is my love potion. Never before would I have thought wine could be this interesting. It all started in the summer of 2019 when I met the Robledo family, owners of Robledo Family Vineyards in Sonoma, California. They established the first tasting room in the United States that is owned by a former Mexican migrant vineyard worker and his family. After much discussion of my interest in wine, they offered me a harvest internship. Although I was very excited about this opportunity, I was also scared and nervous as I knew nothing about harvest or [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:51:09-08:00May 20, 2020|

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