I know you await my posts with a fervent desire, for which I am very appreciative. But, sometimes it is useful to get a different perspective. In the same way that travel broadens one’s mind, so too can reading outside of one’s usual comfort zone. In the spirit of helping out my friends, and I do […]
The folks at Wine Country Getaways recently published this look at Andis’s concrete eggs as wine making vessels. I wrote about this same subject back in 2011. The Wine Country Getaways post has a nice photograph of Andis’s concrete egg. The concrete vessel provides an ideal wine aging environment. Because of the thermal mass of […]
I am happy to unveil a preview of the cover for my next book, 10 Great Gold Country Wineries. This book is a short ebook which will list my top 10 Gold Country wineries. The wineries in the Sierra Foothills make some of the best wines in California. With over 100 wineries in Amador and […]
The East Bay Vintners Alliance is putting on the 9th annual Urban Wine Xperience on Saturday, August 2nd from 1 to 5pm. The event will be on the Jack London Square Ferry Lawn in Oakland. This is your opportunity to taste wines from 20 different East Bay wineries, as well as foods from local restaurants who […]
You’ve arrived in El Dorado County and you’ve stopped at a few wineries to taste and buy some wine. Now you’re feeling a little peckish. Where can you grab a bite to eat? When we first started going up to Gold Country for the wine, finding a place to eat was the biggest challenge for […]
This post was originally posted on June 22, 2012. Last weekend’s jaunt up to El Dorado for the Pleasant Valley Wine Makers’ Rocks & Rhone event reminded me that Summer tasting has some specific requirements! It is almost officially Summer and I’m sure your mind is wandering in the neighborhood of “where can we go […]
I am very pleased to unveil the new look for the OpinionatedWineGuide.com. The old look just wasn’t working for me. It was too dark and had too many graphic design flaws. I found it hard to look at. If it was hard for me to look at, I figured it was hard for you to […]
Do you know the 9 basic wine styles? Madeline Puckett, the moving force behind one of the best wine websites, Winefolly.com has distilled pretty much everything you need to know about the basic wine styles to one helpful graphic. The accompanying post is informative and entertaining. I encourage you to visit Winefolly.com and spend some time […]
The second day of the 2014 El Dorado Passport event started out over cast and chilly, but by the time we left the hotel, the sun was shining and the temperature was warming up. It is a beautiful drive from El Dorado Hills to our first winery of the day, Skinner Vineyard & Winery. The […]
My tasting companion and I started our Passport 2014 at Gold Hill Vineyards. I like starting here for a couple of reasons. First, I think they are one of the first wineries you can get to as you drive up from the Bay Area. Second, the drive from Highway 50 to the winery is beautiful […]
