ShareYou’d think that Tablas Creek’s remote location, more than a half hour’s drive into the oak-dotted hills from Paso Robles, would deter people. But no. In fact as we drove up, a stretch limo was disgorging a leesy troop of bachelorette-partiers; I worried they might be examples of the wine tasters gone wild phenomenon. Indeed, [...]

ShareDear Wine Girl:
I am going to Calistoga in Napa Valley with a friend at the end of the month. We are going to taste white wines because neither of us knows anything about them. We are staying at Solage on the Silverado Trail, and I was wondering if you had any good ideas for whites [...]

ShareBy spousal order, I’ve had to limit my membership in wine clubs to two. So after an excruciating process of elimination, I came up with a pair of desert-island wineries. I didn’t pick them because they make my favorite or most prized wine. (That’s what mailing lists are for, and thankfully Alice didn’t say anything [...]

ShareWine tasting — or gymnastic event?
That’s what I was wondering as I watched Steve Martell of Kaleidos climb up between two stacks of oak barrels, stacked three high. That and gee, I hope Paso Robles isn’t hit by the next Big One, right now.
But the earth stilled beneath our feet, and Steve’s thief sucked up [...]

ShareThe only cult cabernet I buy every year is Shafer’s Hillside Select — I love drinking it, and it’s the only example of this rarified category I can afford. Not that it’s cheap. But compared to Screaming Eagle at $500 or Harlan Estate at $350 per bottle, a $200 Hillside Select is a bargain. Plus, [...]