
Family of Friends Newsletter

Best Wine for Peruvian Food at La Mar SF
If you’re looking for the best wine for Peruvian food, this post is for you. Executive chef Victoriano Lopez hosted a wine pairing dinner at La Mar SF, which included food and wine pairing with his delectable Peruvian recipes, showcasing some of the best wine for seafood with a Peruvian twist.
We usually imagine a Sonoma County Wine Tasting paired with a charcuterie board of hard and soft cheese, cured meats, pickles and olives.…
Sonoma Wine Tasting Prices Surge Post Lockdown
Since the California stay-at-home lockdown order was lifted, the average price of Sonoma wine tasting County rose 44% over average prices before the lockdown, according to the 2022 Sonoma Wine Tasting Report.
The average price of an entry-level Sonoma wine tasting was $25.75 before the lockdown on March 19, 2020. But since the lockdown was lifted on June 15, 2021, the average price of an entry-level wine tasting in Sonoma County has risen to $37. …
Best Time to Visit Wine Country
“The odds are against every farmer. All the time,” says Samantha Dorsey, president of McEvoy Ranch on the Point Reyes Petaluma Highway. And finding a way to overcome those odds in the age of climate change and create a top-tier, artisanal product has become increasingly challenging.
Over the last three years, two of the top ten costliest fires in the US – The Glass Fire and CZU Lightning Complex Fire were in Northern California,…
Wine Dinner at La Mar
This Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 6pm La Mar on The Embarcadero in San Francisco will be hosting a special wine dinner with Halleck Vineyard.
Executive Chef Victoriano Lopez, Sous Chef Ricardo Younis and Vintner Ross Halleck will pair cool climate Sonoma wines paired with La Mar’s award-winning Peruvian cuisine for an intimate sit-down dinner in a private dining room, which was once the ticket office to the Piers with oversized windows overlooking the Financial District.…
DeLoach Pinot Noir vs Three Sons Cuvee (Wine Review)
Although they are based in west Santa Rosa, DeLoach has every right to call themselves a Russian River Valley winery. Sure, they also source fruit from the Sonoma Coast, North Coast and Northern Sonoma AVAs. But it is the Russian River Valley AVA they chose to use on their label. The part of Santa Rosa they’re in is incredibly diverse in terms of soil types. In fact, there’s more variation here than in all of France.…
Cracker Jacks and Wine (Sonoma Wine Club Events)
In keeping with our mission of building community through wine, on Sunday, July 31st we organized a trip to the ball game for our Inner Circle Wine Club to see the San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park. We reserved a private box just off first base in the infield for a fun, unpretentious wine tasting and Cracker Jacks afternoon.
Our club members are definitely ready to get back out in the world because tickets sold out in 2 hours after we posted it on our …
Acacia Pinot Noir vs Halleck Vineyard (Wine Review)
If Pinot Noir were an animal, it’d be a chameleon. There seems to be no other grape that takes on its environmental surroundings quite like this highly-adaptable varietal. Preferring a cool climate, this thin-skinned grape is legendary for its versatility. It can be used to make white, red, rose, and sparkling wine of tremendous quality.
Pinot Noir Wine ReviewsCarneros Pinot Noir from Acacia WinerySonoma Coast Pinot Noir Hillside CuveeVideo Pinot Noir Wine Review
The historic home for Pinot Noir is in Burgundy.…
Food and Wine Pairing: Sonoma Whites & Pinots at AOC
The Los Angeles Wine Writers’ Group recently attended a special food and wine pairing at AOC, the restaurant featured in Condé Nast Traveler’s “50 hot tables” and on Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Wine List.” It’s credited with pioneering the small-plate tapas dining experience on the west coast. A.O.C. is helmed by Caroline Styne, a lifelong restaurateur and master sommelier. It features her inspired and adventurous by-the-glass selection paired with a casual yet innovative small plates menu.…
7 Best Small Wineries in Sonoma
The best small wineries in Sonoma are boutique wineries – those which make less than 5000 cases annually – are more high touch than high-tech. These places are labors of love. Wines are hand-crafted with exceeding attention and care. There’s freedom to experiment here with different styles and varietals. An approach that looks to expand your palette instead of stultifying it.It’s less about the glitz and glam. There’s no mass-production assembly line or corporate sponsorship. In fact,…
