“Not Your Mother’s” Dry White Zinfandel from the Russian River Valley – Wine Story

European semi-sweet wines were the rage in the 1970s. Blue Nun, a German Liebfroumilch, was a fave. Mateus Rosé from Portugal was the most popular wine in the world.

At the same time, a new entrant, White Zinfandel wine, joined the ranks of American wines made by Sutter Home.

Sutter Home employed a winemaking technique called “saignée,” draining some of the free-run juice from Zinfandel to create a concentrated,…

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Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Little Sister – Wine Story

The grapes for our Little Sister Sauvignon Blanc are sourced from “Patient Terrier” Vineyard named in homage to the faithful companion of its owner, Greg Conklin.

Rather than “Patient Terrier,” we chose to name the wine for a family story.

In 2002, we were judged #1 Pinot Noir in the United States for the first crop from Halleck Vineyard Estate,…

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Caring for an Adult

It feels like yesterday when we planted Halleck Vineyard. Jennifer was combing the Yellow Pages looking for rootstock, stumbling across a single-line listing for John Caldwell under “Nurseries.” This was amongst ads hawking all manner of services and products. Previous calls came up empty. There was a dearth of Pinot Noir rootstock available in 1991-92….

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Curried Quinoa and Salmon: Austin Perkins

We are privileged to partner with the finest chefs in the world. Thomas Keller of Per Se and The French Laundry, Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, Cat Kora, and Michael Psilakis, to name a few.

We’re featuring dishes from many of our friends on a monthly basis with recipes and stories, like Austin Perkins, formerly of Nick’s Cove,…

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Arctic Char with new potatoes, Apples and Endive

Mike Anthony, the Executive Chef of Gramercy Tavern shares his recipe for ‘Arctic Char with New Potatoes, Apples and Endive’

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Love is an enormous word, despite only four letters

In February we turn our focus to Love. Exalted, extolled, and exploited, Love is an integral part of our lives, yet rarely explored. For example, saying, “I love you” for the first time is a huge threshold in any relationship; but we easily bandy the word about for preferences (I love popcorn), activities (I love to ski),…

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This blog is sponsored by Halleck Vineyard but we also write about Sonoma wineries, wine tasting rooms and wines. If you buy anything through links on our site, in some cases we may earn a commission.

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