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Paraduxx winery is an off-shot of the infamous Duckhorn and is till headed-up by members of the Duckhorn family to this day. It’s goal is simple – take top-shelf California Zinfandel and blend it with bordeaux varietals to come up with wines that taste better than the sum of its parts.  For a number of [...]

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By Darin Pemberton Its spring! Trees are budding, bulbs have pushed through the soil. Kids are playing in the streets and yard of our neighborhood. The wind makes sitting on the porch just a little chilly – not quite California weather – but pretty darn good for South East Michigan, in early April. Thanks to [...]

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I freely admit that I can be a grilled-food junkie – I’m not at all one of those “fair-weather” grillers – you know the kind. Those that profess they love grilling, however, only do it from June-August *cough* pansies *cough*. I suppose it’s fair to say that because I do love grilling that it’s easy [...]

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The husband and wife team of Optima Winery in Healdsburg California started in 1984 and has remained a relatively small, family-run winery that produces premium wines. Its mission is quite simple – work with top vineyards in and around its local regions and help them each showcase those particular vineyard sites. Mike Duffy is the [...]

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Without a doubt, Ravenswood Winery is one of the most well-known Zinfandel producers in the United States and the world. Its owner and winemaker, Joel Peterson, most likely bleeds zinfandel. It’s his unadultered passion for this noble grape is one of the primary reasons behind it and he has made it his mission to bring [...]

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If you were to have the chance to meet the winemaker at Four Vines in Paso Robles, Christian Tietje, and ask him what his style was, he’d most likely say “to make wines that do a kick-ass job of representing their varietal composition”. His fresh, bold attitude is, fortunately, one that we’ve been seeing more [...]

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Family-run wineries are truly the backbone of the industry and make some of the best vino to be had – I’m a huge fan of the passion and excellence to the craft of winemaking they bring to the table. I was first introduced to Summit Lake Vineyards in July from one of their friends and [...]

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Vance Rose not only makes the 5-Mile Bridge Zinfandel I recently reviewed, but also has some wines out that are squarely aimed at the $10 and under market. These wines have been constructed in a way to be a huge step-up from the many “grocery-store” brands that fall in that same price arena.   With [...]

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Nose: black cherry, a hint of tar and shoepolish along with leather shoe – Taste: Excellent dose of blackberry/black raspberry jam with a peppercorn reduction – superp, silky mouthfeel from the oak aging. A really nice finish that lingers on for hours and does a great job of cleansing the palate of zesty or bbq [...]

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XYZin is an arm of Ascentia wine estates in California and as its name implies, it aims to be the final word in Zinfandel. Its  winemaker, Ondine Chattan, grew-up in Marin country so she’s been around the wine regions of that area most of her life. As one can tell from the way XYZin names its [...]

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