Category: Spotlights

Paul Lato – “The” Number One Grand Cru Producer from California!

It is with a happy, but heavy heart that I have to say -  the 2011 Paul Lato bottlings are OUTSTANDING but VERY limited! I wish I could say that I have a lot to offer of this amazing winery, but I don’t. As it has been the case in the past 5 years, we [...]

Friday February 1st, 2013 in Spotlights, Tasting Notes | No Comments »

Exclusive – Kamen vertical 2004-2009 six-pack

I had the pleasure recently to sit down with Robert Kamen, his winemaker Mark Herold, and his vineyard manager Phil Coturri. Together we reviewed and tasted a 10 year vertical of Kamen ESTATE wines. All 10 vintages have been holding up very well and are show great. All of them still have great aging potential [...]

Friday October 26th, 2012 in Other, Spotlights | No Comments »

Score some 94+ Points Pott

Aaron Pott has amassed a nice portfolio over the years and his own label has been on fire as of late.  This latest bottling the HMSS  or “Her Majesty’s Secret Service” comes from the famed Stagecoach Vineyard.  The legend has it that a notorious 19th century Englishman bandit robbed the daily Stagecoach here from St. [...]

Wednesday July 25th, 2012 in Spotlights, Tasting Notes | No Comments »

Local boutique stocks hard-to-find wines

We were fortunate enough to be featured in today’s San Francisco Chronicle! Read the full article here… Golden Gate Wine Cellars is a locally owned boutique wine store that carries hundreds of hard-to-find wines from California vineyards. The shop has close to a thousand labels in stock at any given time that are also available [...]

Friday July 20th, 2012 in Other, Spotlights | No Comments »

Milange, the next “collectible” – Frank’s own wine label

I don’t want to be partial to my own label, but I am proud!  Milange is named after my daughters (MILayna and ANGElina).  It has been in the works for some years now, and now it is finally here! Our inaugural release of 100 cases was poured at our New York wine event last week [...]

Monday June 11th, 2012 in Spotlights, Tasting Notes | 1 Comment »

Cult Nouveau Sans Liege astonishes us again!

Sans Liege (without cork) the brainchild of Curt Schalchlin has crafted some of the most amazing no-nonsense wines over the past years. His relentless search for independence as he calls it is paying great dividend. He uses new world techniques combined with the heritage of the Rhone Valley to create a mind-boggling final product. Tasting [...]

Friday May 4th, 2012 in Spotlights, Tasting Notes | No Comments »

Alta Colina beats $300 wine in blind tasting!

Since the 1970’s, Bob Tillman has looked for the site where he could plant a world-class vineyard. He didn’t find that property until he moved to the Central Coast of California and tasted Paso Robles wines. Finally, he and his wife Lynn knew they were in the place where they could produce the kind of [...]

Wednesday April 18th, 2012 in Spotlights, Tasting Notes | No Comments »

Boutique Gem turns heads!

In a 5 winery blind tasting (Montelena Estate, Roy Estate, Buccella, Caymus Special Selection and C-Beck) this little gem surprised the group of 30 tasters. Not only did it come in first in the tasting, it also surprised the group in the final average price score (we “guess” the price of each wine and average [...]

Monday March 5th, 2012 in Spotlights, Tasting Notes | No Comments »

Small producer slams big name 100 point wines!

In a recent blind tasting of 2008 Cabernets and 2007 Syrahs, Patland vineyards beat out some big name wineries, including some 100 Point wines! In the Syrah tasting the lineup included: Alban Reva (100 Points, $150.00), Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne (97+ Points $350.00!!), Alban Lorraine (96 Points), ,  Betz Family La Cote Rousse, Araujo [...]

Wednesday February 29th, 2012 in Events, Spotlights | No Comments »

Small (girl) winery beats up the Big Boys wineries!

Karen Culler has been around for some time now, and her portfolio has been very impressive. Although I think the last blind tasting I conducted might have just elevated her status some more. The Who’s Who of Napa Valley wineries was represented at this tasting. We tasted blind and guessed the price of each wine! [...]

Saturday February 11th, 2012 in Spotlights, Tasting Notes | No Comments »