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On Wine By Dan Berger
Dan Berger resides in Sonoma County and publishes a weekly newsletter on wine. His On Wine column appears every Friday. Dan can be reached at danberger@vintageexperiences.com
November 20th, 2009
Petite sirah gains admirersPetite sirah is a grape variety that usually isn’t so petite and has little to do with syrah (other than being its offspring).
November 13th, 2009
A peek at Dunfillan“It is a shy and decidedly youthful looking member of an old Scotch family who is the owner of the broad acres of Dunfillan, one of the finest vineyards in America.”
November 6th, 2009
The Tudal LegacyArnold Tudal was a row crop farmer in Alameda, when he decided to retire and sell his land that grew high-caliber fruits and vegetables that wound up on the tables of white tablecloth San Francisco restaurants.
October 30th, 2009
Missing winesTwo decades ago, Simi Winery in Healdsburg made a splendid chenin blanc. It was as tasty and as easy to like as a spring morning. And it was easy to make, easy to sell and it made a profit.
October 23rd, 2009
Harvest RainA cold, heavy rain hit northern California vineyards on Oct. 13, a lot earlier than normal, and that all but sealed the 2009 harvest for most wineries.
October 9th, 2009
A nutty time in wine countryYears ago, I had a friend who was a member of a small wine tasting society who liked to visit wine country regions around California about the middle of October in a multi-passenger van.
September 25th, 2009
'Big' winesWine makers don’t get much support these days by making sitting-down wines. That’s because at the higher prices, the wines that get the greatest attention are “walking-around” wines.
September 18th, 2009
Continuum“Everyone knows the name Mondavi, but no one knows the name Continuum.”
September 11th, 2009
Aging White WineThe writer was irate. He said I had ignored one of his favorite white wines. His letter was in response to a column in which I had said that, in general, most white wines are best consumed young.
September 4th, 2009
The wine roller coasterIn more than three decades of reporting on the wine industry, I have seen the cycle so often I can now nearly predict it.
August 28th, 2009
New York winesWATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Last Tuesday, 24 wine judges faced a fight of 11 white wines at the New York Wine & Food Classic wine competition.
August 21st, 2009
Riesling comes of ageWere it not for the sugar problem, riesling probably would be up there with the world’s greatest white wines.
August 14th, 2009
Emerging regionsNapa Valley and Sonoma County were once emerging wine regions, rated well behind other U.S. areas in terms of wine quality.
July 31st, 2009
Context is everythingYou are sitting on a patio in late summer. The temperature is close to 100 and you want something to cool your fevered brow. Besides a cold beer, the wine that works best in this setting is anything that’s cold. Usually that’s white or rosé wine or perhaps a bubbly.
July 24th, 2009
Family farming and the economyIt is about two months before harvest and Frank Hewitt has no buyers yet for any of the cabernet sauvignon on his 17 acres in Calistoga.
July 17th, 2009
Bottle VariationIf you pay strict attention to the wines you buy, you may notice that there is a slight but noticeable difference from one bottle to the next.
July 3rd, 2009
Wine in restaurantsYou would think that with the economy sluggish, and dining out now seen as a pricey luxury, that restaurant owners would doing all sorts of things to encourage more diners — especially on traditionally slow weeknights.
June 26th, 2009
Another wine country — TemeculaWe exited the freeway at Rancho California Road, and drove east through pasture, scrub bush and rolling, featureless hills. In three miles. We reached the first building, Joe Hart’s winery.
June 5th, 2009
Judging winesJudging wine is viewed as a lark: You taste a lot of wine and state what you like. How much more fun can you ask for? Anyone would want this job, right?
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