Send in the Clones...Chardonnay Clones, Part 1...

Much to our delight, the Goddess of Wine and JD were invited to attend the fourth annual Chardonnay Symposium - the only event of its kind in the United States focusing on the golden grape. This was a chance to taste the world’s (well, mostly California's) most celebrated Chardonnays alongside food pairings designed to enhance the wine experience, with an educational panel session moderated by Wine Enthusiast’s Steve Heimoff.

Although I was looking forward to tasting the diverse selection of Chardonnays, I was most interested in the winemaker panel, titled and subtitled: Bring in the Clones! Chardonnay Clones: Do you care? Should you? Top California winemakers weigh in on everything you ever wondered about clones and selections. The panelists included: Moderator STEVE HEIMOFF, Wine Enthusiast, MATT DEES, Jonata, Santa Ynez Valley, MERRY EDWARDS, Merry Edwards Winery, Russian River Valley, FINTAN DU FRESNE, Chamisal Vineyards, Edna Valley, ECKHARD KAESEKAMP, Guillaume Grapevine Nursery, JEFF STEWART, Hartford Court, Sonoma County, CLARISSA NAGY, Riverbench Vineyard & Winery, Santa Maria Valley, JAMES ONTIVEROS, Alta Maria Vineyards & Native 9, Santa Maria Valley, and KARL WENTE, Wente Vineyards, Livermore Valley.

Wining in Napa, Sonoma and Lompoc...Part 4...

After a lovely day tasting in Napa, we packed our bags and headed to Sonoma. We stopped on the way at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards. We've had Jacuzzi wines before - mainly their Chardonnay - and found it pleasant and drinkable. The winery itself is beautiful - a great place for a party. And, judging from the crowd on a Wednesday morning, it is clearly a popular stop for wine lovers. The wine list is long and diverse, with a lot of Italian varietals, and we were happy that our barista, Kerstin, offered us spit cups.

Wining in Napa and Sonoma and Lompoc...Part 1...

Having been invited to witness the wedding of Megan and Rich, JD and I drove up to Napa 7/24, stopping at Harris Ranch for an overpriced lunch and fuel for the car; arrived at the Best Western Inn at the Vines in Napa. Very nice, updated, clean room. Pulled in around 4, cleaned up and rested a bit, then coasted over to Villa Romano for the rehearsal dinner. Megan and Rich love Villa Romano, but the staff were a bit unfocused due to the sudden illness of their boss the night before, so dinner had some interesting hiccups. The guests were mainly family, but there were other folks as well: Dale and Mark, Brian and Stephanie, Rich’s best man Don Williams and his family, and Joe Lobue from WineShop At Home and his wife.