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Merlot Thursday: Duckhorn Vineyards 50th Anniversary Napa Valley Merlot (2023)
Duckhorn Vineyards is celebrating 50 years, and we are celebrating #MerlotThursday! Today, we’re drinking Merlot and raising a glass to founders Dan and Margaret Duckhorn. (Dan passed away earlier this year at the age of 87, just as this 50th anniversary edition was arriving in stores and restaurants. Margaret passed in 2022.) Carole Hicke interviewed…
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Can regenerative wine scale? Ridgely Evers on AVIVO, Lodi, and the business of deliciousness
In early September, I sat down to chat with Ridgely Evers, founder and owner of DaVero Farms & Winery and co-founder of AVIVO Wines. Our conversation touched on climate-adaptive varieties, retail marketing, and the most important job of any bottle of wine. (Hint: It’s to taste good.) “I wrote software from 1967 until 2024–but for…
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Merlot Thursday: Napa Cellars Merlot (2022) at GrapeFest
Happy #MerlotThursday from the 40th Annual GrapeFest in historic Grapevine, Texas. I took an early train this morning with one mission in mind: Find a Merlot and taste it before the sun goes down. I’m currently in the International Wine Experience garden, where wines from California and France are being poured in honor of the…
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Merlot Thursday: Markham Vineyards “Six Stack” North Coast Merlot (2023)
As Dallas continues to sprawl northward, newly-built steakhouses pop up along the Tollway overnight, like mushrooms. And, like a forager, I poke at them and turn them over. I’m looking for my next tasty prize: a new bottle for #MerlotThursday. J. Alexander’s has that odd, affluent-suburb combination of steaks and gooey sushi rolls, no happy…
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Merlot Thursday: Clos Pegase Napa Valley Merlot (2023)
A few things have happened since I started writing about Merlot every #MerlotThursday. First, I’ve gained a fresh appreciation for the variety and all its styles and nuances. Second, I’ve gotten better–not perfect, but better–at recognizing Merlot in blind tastings. And third, people have started to approach me with their Merlot stories. The last Merlot…
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Merlot Thursday: Orin Swift “Advice from John” California Merlot (2024)
“There is no arguing about taste” is a maxim that goes back centuries. But as wine fans and wine critics, that’s what we absolutely love to do, regardless. Let’s taste wine! Argue about taste! Then open another bottle and argue about taste some more. Today’s wine is a very popular Merlot from the very popular…
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Review: Emmolo “No. 8” Méthode Traditionnelle California Sparkling Wine (NV)
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris–the famous 1976 wine competition that humbled French oenophiles and made Napa Valley famous. For months, my wine calendar has been full of “France vs. United States”-themed classes and tastings. The exercise throws you straight into the deep end of the philosophy of winemaking. Can…
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Merlot Thursday: PlumpJack Napa Valley Merlot (2022)
PlumpJack’s Merlot is plump, for sure–an exuberantly fruity, spice-packed treat. Full of unapologetic, born-this-way Merlot moxie, it divided the room between those who love Merlot and those who remain unconvinced. But, as you might have guessed from this #MerlotThursday series (now in its 53rd installment!) we are not hesitant sippers. We’re fully on board the…
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Pinot Forum Dallas: Tasting the Russian River Valley
What could be better than traveling to your favorite wine regions? Not much–except having your favorite wine regions come to you! That’s what happened in April when I met up with the Russian River Valley Winegrowers in downtown Dallas. Located just north of the Bay Area and cooled by fog from the Petaluma Gap, Russian…
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How to get from San Francisco to Napa for under $20
The words “Napa Valley” evoke visions of majestic estates, vine-clad foothills, and world-class Cabernet poured in lavish tasting rooms. It’s one of the world’s great wine tourism destinations—always in demand, and with prices to match. Napa is expensive for wine-tasting. That’s expected. But the hardest part is shelling out hundreds of dollars before the first…
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Merlot Thursday: Shafer Napa Valley Merlot (2023)
The 2023 vintage in Napa Valley has wine writers using some immoderate language. “2023 was as perfect as any Napa vintage in living memory. It was Napa’s ‘1961 Bordeaux,’” writes Karen MacNeil in Decanter. “The Vintage of a Lifetime,” proclaims the Napa Valley Harvest’s vintage summary. “With consistent, mild weather throughout the season, above-average crop yields,…
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Merlot Thursday: Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot (2022)
Today’s wine was presaged by a special omen: Duck family! In my yard! Mr. and Mrs. Mallard stopped by this morning, grubbing up worms from the driveway after the rain. Whenever they found one, he nudged it toward her to taste it first–just like my partner does when I order something weird off a wine…