This time of year more emphasis is placed on gathering with friends, and certainly for many the pace of gatherings increases substantially. But most of us gather with friends regardless of the season and when we do it’s likely that the folks we gather with will have different wine preferences. Some will prefer white wines or bubbles (that would be […]
Vermouth might seem like a step away from wine, which is the focus of Pull That Cork, but 9diDANTE isn’t just any vermouth. It is a wine-focused vermouth. According to European law vermouth must be 75% wine and 9diDANTE founder, Alex Ouziel, takes the wine component of his vermouths as seriously as he does the 27 botanicals that are also […]
CV Wines takes its name from the Continental Vineyard, a 2500-acre property located 13 miles east of the city of Paso Robles. The vineyard was planted before the establishment of the Paso Robles AVA in the belief that the region was capable of making high-quality wines. In 1973 a group of Hollywood actors that included Wayne Rodgers, James Cann, Jack […]
Sicily lies just off the toe of Italy’s boot. Having just enjoyed watching more than two weeks of Olympic sports, I can’t help but think of Sicily as the rugby ball (or misshapen soccer ball) at Italy’s toe. Sicily is more correctly described as the largest island in the Mediterranean and is home to a variety of indigenous white and […]
We are sipping pink wine again today. While I’m happy to sip rosé any time of year, summertime is when we most often enjoy rosé. If you add bubbles, and in one case organic certification, you have the perfect summer sip. We received both wines as tasting samples. Not wanting to miss out on the rosé craze, sparkling rosé has […]
Sipping a chilled rosé is a refreshing way to keep cool on a warm afternoon. Rosé is also appealing for its beautiful color and its lively, fresh flavor profile that pairs well with food. As a bonus, rosé is often relatively low in alcohol. All three of the wines in this tasting, which we received as tasting samples, have these […]
For someone who appreciates wine, time spent reading a beautiful book about rosé, while sipping rosé, makes for an enjoyable afternoon. The book now in my lap, published by Rizzoli New York, The Book of Rosé: The Provençal Vineyard That Revolutionized Rosé, is just such a book. The glossy pink cover is adorned with what looks like an ecru wine […]
California’s Livermore Valley AVA is situated about 35 miles east of San Francisco Bay. The valley has an unusual east-west orientation within the Coast Range that allows cool, maritime breezes to be funneled inland through the valley from the bay. The region is still quite warm with ample sunshine and cool nights. Valley floor and mountainside vineyard locations boast well-drained […]
I have a thing for mountainside vineyards. Growing vines on the side of a mountain is definitely not the easiest place to grow them, but some of the most interesting and complex wines I’ve tasted are grown there. Smith-Madrone wines are both. They are also elegant, unexpected and affordable. Affordable and Napa Valley are sometimes mutually exclusive with regard to […]
Last spring we tasted a group of wines from Uruguay that included Sauvignon Blanc, Moscatel and Cabernet Franc in addition to the country’s flagship variety, Tannat. That tasting was accompanied by a webinar that provided a detailed introduction to the country, its wine regions and growing conditions. We were impressed by the quality and affordability of the wines we tasted. […]
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.
