Posts tagged: 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Malk 2008 Cabernet blows away the big names in a blind tasting!

For those who bought the 2007 vintage I can tell you that you will be happily surprised by this latest release. Unfortunately this year’s production is much smaller (only 200 cases produced), but it is just as good. We recently lined up 10 big Napa Valley (expensive and highly rated) Cabernets and the result was [...]

Monday January 16th, 2012 in , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »