Wineries

ROSENDAL WINERY is a small wine farm in Robertson, South Africa. We handcraft our wines with inspiration of our near nature. We produce high quality and low volume to a small exclusive group of customers that enjoy our way of wine-making. The Rosendal wines are known by a small exclusive group of residence in South Africa, United Kingdom and Scandinavia for its inspiration of the bio-div

ROSENDAL WINERY is a small wine farm in Robertson, South Africa. We handcraft our wines with inspiration of our near nature. We produce high quality and low volume to a small exclusive group of customers that enjoy our way of wine-making. The Rosendal wines are known by a small exclusive group of residence in South Africa, United Kingdom and Scandinavia for its inspiration of the bio-div

Spring Mountain wineries are situated in the northwestern hills of Napa Valley, directly above St. Helena. Some of the most notable producers in the area include Smith Madrone, Cain Vineyard and Paloma Vineyard.Smith Madrone. This winery is considered today to be one of the premier wineries in the entire Napa Valley region. The winery was originally established in 1971 by Stuart Smith.Cain Vineyar

There are quite a number of wineries in Oakville that are worth visiting. There are at least seventeen wineries to choose from depending on the type of wine that interest you.One of the more known wineries in this region is the Opus One wineries. Established in 1979, this winery invented the "ultra-premium" wine category.The Screaming Eagle Winery produces exceptional wines that are difficult to a

This week we returned to Motovun and Istria; it has been a long time since we were there in the summer. Our house renovation continues under Gino’s supervision in Motovun. The exterior rendering has been completed and the floor structure is in. They have added the interior plasterboard walls and ‘roughed-out’ the electrical and plumbing work. [...]

Submitted By: Terry Sullivan The Chianti region of Tuscany is a vast region of rolling hills set in the countryside of central Italy. Eight zones divide this region, each with a unique terrior. Wine Trail Traveler visited seven wineries in late October of 2007. Two of these wineries were in the Chianti Colii Senesi zone while [...]

A great big right back at you thank you to Olga… check out her awesome photos of the goodie bag that she won last week for the Name the Traveling Dog Panties giveaway PLUS her fun dog playing with the DoggyTug video… -tails-to-you.html a new clue for those of you who want to enter this week’s giveaway [...]

This month I added five wineries to my client list. Three from California and two from Washington. Typically these accounts are hard to win because wineries tend to be very tied into their local banks. However, since this is my main industry niche, I am able to find them solutions...

Wine Tasting in Michigan Wineries Where Exceptional Wines Are Produced There are people who love the experience of being able to taste a wine before they decide whether they want to buy that wine. For these people going to a winery and being able participate in wine tasting is the only way to see if a [...]

Anyone who likes wine and has ever visited a winery has thought to themselves, "I'd love to do this for a living." There is a company in San Francisco that is helping dreamers with cash go from the idea to reality, without the hassle of planting vines, harvesting grapes or bothering with building an actual winery.Crushpad, which calls itself "the urban winery that is democratizing winemaking," is holding a wine branding and sales workshop on April 21st for more than 50 clients who are set to launch wine labels.Crushpad has a new 30,000 square foot winery in San Francisco that can handle production runs starting as small as 50 cases. Crushpad has more than 2,000 clients that range from wine enthusiasts who want their own label to impress friends to wine bars looking to create a signature offering.While private labeling has been around in the wine business for years, the difference in this case is that Crushpad works with wannabe winemakers to create small-lot custom wines from grapes t

Would you buy a wine labeled "Napa" from China? How about a "Champagne" from California? Wineries from the United States, Europe and Australia are meeting with officials in Washington this week to try to get tougher labeling standards for wine that protects specific geographic designations.The wine world has long given significance to appellations. The belief is that the climate, soil and other growing conditions influence the grapes and that consumers come to expect a certain level of quality from a Bordeaux or a Sonoma wine. The problem is that with fame comes imitators. In some cases the battle has been going on for generations. Champagne has become a universal word for sparkling wine, while Port is generic for a sweet fortified wine. The makers of the original versions of these wines believe they could boost sales if consumers were not misled by labels of producers not from their regions.The U.S. and Europe did sign a deal last year to keep wineries from launching new wines using n

While Utah government officials are confiscating vanity license plates with offending words like MERLOT and CHIANTI, officials at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles are ready to stamp out special "Virginia First in Wine" plates. All the Virginia Wineries Association has to do is come up with 350 drivers ready to make the switch and plunk down $25 for the special plate.The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in 2005 authorizing the plates. However, the DMV has a rule that 350 people must sign up for a new style plate before they will begin to stamp them out. The plates recognize the fact that Jamestown settlers began experimenting with making wine from wild grapes when they arrived in 1607 and a Virginia House of Burgesses bill passed in 1619 required every landowner to plant ten grape vines.The Virginia Wineries Association is up against a ticking clock to get the 350 applications for plates. The law authorizing the plates expires on June 15. Right now they have about 1

This Saturday I went to a tasting at my local wine store, Capitol Cellars, where two boutique wineries from Napa Valley were pouring their wine.Let's start with the larger of the two, Falcor Wine Cellars. Falcor was founded in 1995 by Trial Lawyers Jim Peterson and Mike Bee. They got winemaker Ray Coursen on board, who has been in the wine industry since 1983, created Elyse Winery in 1987 (named after his daughter), and has since then added the Jacob Franklin label (named after his son).The 2003 Bacigalupi Vineyard Russian River Valley ($33) has some white floral and tropical fruit on the nose. It is very round and creamy on the palate with a good amount of oak and the typical buttery flavor. A very good Chardonnay if this is your style. If you prefer a more light and not so oaky Chard, you need to look elsewhere...The 2004 Napa Valley Sangiovese ($30) is made in the "Super Tuscan" style with 88% Sangiovese and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Red cherries and licorice on the nose with an ear

A co-worker of mine at the winery has a friend who, despite his acts of heroism, is not doing so well himself right now. Already a hero several years ago, Michael James Keenan jumped into the SF Bay to save a woman from a car that had gone over the edge. Then last week, he was house sitting for a longtime friend when a fire broke out in the apartment early in the morning of February 6, 2007. He went back in to save Bobby, a Jack Russell Terrier. Both made it out, but Michael is hanging on, in critical condition at San Francisco General. Friends have started a website for Michael, where people can read about him and donate money to help chip away at cost of the many surgeries which will be necessary to deal with the massive burns he suffered. Members of the wine community are doing what they can to help out, as well. Steven Sherman is putting together a fundraiser for next Wednesday, and many restaurants and wineries are giving freely. Details Location: William Cross Wine Merchant

As the farm economies of many states evolve, land owners are taking property once used for everything from dairy farming to tobacco growing and turning it into vineyards. Illinois is one state that does not instantly spring to mind when you think wine. However, a just released report from the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association indicates that could change in the coming years. According to the report, nearly 2,300 people now work in vineyard and winery business in the state. The industry has more than a $250 million economic impact on the state. The growth has picked up steam during the last decade with 68 new wineries coming on line. While distribution of Illinois wine is expanding in restaurants and retail stores, most is sold at the wineries to visitors. Wineries are good corporate citizens, paying $11.9 million in taxes to the State of Illinois.

Wine is a major economic driver for California. Last year the state produced 225 million cases of wine, placing it fourth in the world behind France, Italy and Spain among the largest wine producers. While the state's wine business is humming along, some grape growers are questioning the practice of blending foreign grapes with grapes harvested in the state. A report by MKF Research LLC that was commissioned by the Wine Institute and California Association of Winegrape Growers, pegs the impact of the California wine industry on the state economy at $52 billion and $103 billion on the U.S. economy. The report says the industry generates 309,000 direct and indirect jobs. The state has 2,275 wineries and 4,600 grape growers. It is estimated that 19.7 million people toured California wineries in 2005. All of this makes for a very healthy industry on the surface, but one of the groups that sponsored the MFK study is complaining about a practice it says has become increasingly popular with