Have you heard of Encruzado, a white wine from Portugal’s Dao wine region? I had not until a tasting with Pedro Castra Mendonca, CEO of the Dao Wine Board.  In…

  Is there a wine enthusiast who doesn’t love to discover something new– a new wine, a new varietal, or a new region?  The answer is no, as a wine…

  UPDATED: October 2, 2020 Please read this message from Castello di Amorosa owner, Dario Sattui, then order some wine, and wait. The Italian castle was not damaged in the…

One of the things I miss most about travel is the chance encounters with strangers. Often it is just a temporary connection; perhaps a shared table at a crowded restaurant,…

Perhaps because I can not travel to Italy right now, (I was scheduled to travel to Venice in April)  all things Italian feel very precious to me.  I revel in…

The Yamhill-Carlton AVA (American Viticulture Area), is located in Northwest Willamette Valley. Protected by the Coast Range Mountains which provide a rain shadow on the region protecting it from extreme…

“Organic and biodynamic are the way to go, especially for small farmers,” says Daniel Warnshuis, owner at Utopia Vineyards in Willamette Valley, Oregon. What makes Willamette Valley unique, aside from…

Alsace, France is a region known for gastronomy (Alsace has more Michelin-star restaurants than any other region in France), and the excellent food-friendly wines produced there. Though the focus is…