Author: Amy

  • The Web Uncorked – Saving money & saving lives with wine

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    It’s all about saving money and saving lives this week…. Lower wine prices may lead  fewer traffic fatalities, reports the Washington Post. Good news: Wine is projected to be one of the 12 things that will be less expensive in 2012. Click over to see why and what else you can save on this year.…

  • Anthony Road Wine Company

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    After reading Summer in a Glass: The Coming of Age of Winemaking in the Finger Lakes, I knew a trip to the Finger Lakes would not be complete without a stop at Anthony Road Wine Company.  I was delighted when the owners, John and Ann Martini, as well as their winemaker, Johannes Reinhardt, all agreed…

  • Visiting the Finger Lakes wine region of New York

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    Last Thanksgiving I took my family on a wine adventure in the Finger Lakes region of New York. When we first decided on the trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect. In the wine stores here in the suburbs of Houston you can’t find many Finger Lakes wines and the manager at my local grocery…

  • Behind the Scenes at Crush with Pomum Cellars

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    This month I had the opportunity to work behind-the-scenes for a few days with Javier Alfonso, owner, winemaker and chief janitor (his words) of Pomum Cellars in Washington state. I helped check on the grapes, met with the farmers, brought grapes back to the winery for processing, hand sorted, crushed, did a lot of rinsing…

  • Max’s Wine Dive in Houston, Texas

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    This was just one of the signs that greeted me as I went to meet with Jacob Fairchild, the director of wine sales for  Max’s Wine Dive in Houston. “Merlot is the new Merlot,” said another one. Obviously I was in for a treat. But I knew that already. About two weeks prior to the…

  • Behind the Scenes Winemaking: Pomum Cellars

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      I’ve been in Washington state for the past few days, volunteering as a winemaker’s assistant for Pomum Cellars, based in Woodinville. I’ve been checking on the grapes growing at the vineyards in the Yakima Valley, collected grapes that have been harvested and I have hand-sorted, crushed and pressed the grapes. And I have cleaned…

  • Salmon Over Spinach and Peppered Pork Tenderloin

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    This week I am planning to try these dinners with my family, along with the accompanying wines: Pecan roasted salmon over wilted spinach Honey mustard green beans Couscous Fruit salad Wine Pairing: Kenwood Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (Purchased at Spec’s Liquors for $9.46) I have made roasted salmon with a spicy rub many, many times. This…

  • Cellar No. 8 Wines

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    Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Paul Rydquist, the winemaker for Cellar No. 8 wines. Not only did Paul share stories about winemaking, and let me taste his wines, but he also told me a bit about the history of the Asti Winery, which produces Cellar No. 8 wines. Cellar No. 8…

  • Smells in Wine: A Sensory Evaluation

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    Have you ever wanted to learn more about the aromas of wine in hopes of enjoying your wine experiences more? By identifying the aromas in different wines, you will not only enjoy the experience of each glass more as you begin to appreciate the intricacies of the flavor, but it will also help you to…

  • One Day in Napa– On my way!

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    Good morning! I’m writing from 10,000 feet (or more) en route to San Francisco on a Southwest Airlines flight. I have the day to spend in Napa by myself, exploring wineries and all things wine, before my husband and brother-in-law arrive later this evening for a weekend in San Francisco. We decided I would fly…

  • Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

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    I had the opportunity to taste a LOT of wines and meet some fantastic winemakers, winery representatives and wine bloggers at the Wine Bloggers Conference last month. One of my favorite wines of the conference was the Alexander Crown by Rodney Strong Vineyards. It was a delicious single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. I had the opportunity to…

  • Want to be a better blogger? The Savvy Blogging Summit Recording are available

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    While at the Online Technologies and Wine session at the Wine Bloggers Conference in July, several of the bloggers had questions about email newsletters, monetization and search engine optimization, among other things. I wished for so many of those bloggers that they had been with me the weekend prior at the Savvy Blogging Summit. The…

  • 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference: Link-up of wrap up posts

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    I enjoyed meeting so many other wine bloggers, wine makers and winery representatives at the fourth annual Wine Bloggers Conference last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.   I’ve had almost as much fun blog-hopping to read everyone’s reviews, peek at everyone’s pictures and compare notes. Since I haven’t seen a compilation of the posts yet, and…

  • What to Serve While Tasting Cabernets

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    This week’s VineSleuth Clue of the Week comes right from my own life. My parents are hosting a brown bag Cabernet tasting at their house tonight and asked me what they should serve to accompany the wines. It is a tasting party, not a dinner party, but they want to have a few light bites…

  • Headed to my first Wine Bloggers Conference

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    My brother-in-law Steve and I are about to be swirling, swishing and spitting with wine bloggers of all kinds… brilliant ones, witty ones, intricate palate ones, verbose ones and maybe to-the-point ones at the 4th North American Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia. Yep, there’s even a conference for that and we get to go.…