Impact of Climate Change on the Petaluma Gap AVA

Catapult Vineyards at sunrise in the Petaluma Gap AVA

Petaluma Gap AVA wines are said to have a bit more balance and refinement because the wind hardens and thickens the grape skins producing more tannins, which render the feeling of texture in your mouth. The microclimate produces wine with a combination of freshness, refinement and elegance with more intensity from the tannins. 

But like the rest of the Bay Area,…

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Wine Tasting Near Bodega Bay: Top 8 Tasting Rooms

Docks at Bodega Bay

It’s now the perfect time of the year for wine tasting near Bodega Bay. This amazing area lies on a San Andreas Fault line, roughly 20 miles as the crow flies from Petaluma, about 30 minutes on the highway from downtown Petaluma to The Links Golf Club at Bodega Harbor, which rests at the southern opening of the bay….

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Wine Festivals: 2022-2023 Calendar

Wine Festivals Reopening Post Lockdown

After a two-year lockdown, life is finally opening up again. So we scoured the web to put together this endemic 2022-2023 Wine Festival Calendar. It features 11 California Wine Festivals, including 4 in Sonoma and Napa, and 2 in Santa Barbara. Plus Nantucket, Oregon, and Colorado wine festivals, and a wine festival reopening in France. The Dana Point Wine Festival is happening too close to our publication date,…

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Sebastopol Wine Tasting Experience at Halleck Vineyard

For more than 20 years, we’ve been hosting Sebastopol wine tasting experiences at our estate. We’re just inland from the majestic Sonoma Coast about 20 minutes from Bodega Bay or 15 minutes from the Barlow. Our Sebastopol wine tastings aren’t held in a traditional visitors center or hospitality tasting room. Rather, we welcome you and your dog if you have one,…

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Celebrated Sonoma and Sebastopol Wineries Reopen

Guests enjoy the hospitality of Sonoma county winemakers and an event by Sonoma County Tourism.

Two years after the global pandemic effectively crushed tourism for Sonoma and Sebastopol wineries, tasting rooms are opening again. The lights are coming back on. And visitors from all parts of the globe are raising a glass to celebrate the return of relative normalcy.

To welcome Los Angeles-based travelers out of their homes and back to wine country,…

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Sweet vs Dry White Zinfandel Wine Tasting (Review)

Sweet and Dry White Zinfandel Wines from Halleck Vineyard and Sutter Home

Ross Halleck and Harris Miner are back at the estate in Sebastopol for a sweet and dry White Zinfandel wine tasting, and discussing about their differences, similarities, and pairing possibilities.

Table of contentsHistory of New World White ZinfandelSutter Home Sweet White Zinfandel Wine Tasting NotesHalleck Vineyard Dry White Zinfandel Wine Tasting NotesWine Review VideoWhite Zinfandel Wrap Up

On one side of the table,…

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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.