http://www.winecountrytripping.com Wine Country Tastings and Tours Blog en-us Sun, 08 Feb 2009 11:19:13 -0800 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:30:58 -0800 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=15 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=15 On Friday afternoon November 21st, Copia, the American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts, closed suddenly leaving many customers a bit confused. After all, there was a movie schedule at 8pm, as well an author signing... but customers where greeted with a posted sign equivalent to: "sorry, kids...park's closed," with no explanation. The sign asked visitors to check the website for more info, but the only info I could find was on the events calendar, where the word "closed" appeared on every date after November 21. The UK wine magazine, Decanter, and other bay area newspapers, reported that a sale of the non-profit Copia was pending, and that Copia plans to re-open by December 1st. As of this writing, not only is there no sale on the horizon, but Copia filed for Chapter 11 and got denied. Hearing of Copia's money trouble is not a big surprise to us. Miss... Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:45:48 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=14 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=14 Tony The Tiger would make a good wine, or so it would be if he lived in certain animal parks in China. By jumping through loop holes in the tiger protection laws, some animal parks are openly selling wine made from Tiger Bone. Although the parks say that the tiger bone comes from animals that have died for some other reason other than for their bone, it's not easy to prove. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is checking it out, but it seems hard to get firm answers or commitments from the parks and Chinese Government. The full story at Oneindia.in here ... Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:45:52 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=13 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=13 A few months ago we reported how Santa Cruz's Westside was about to become a wine mecca, with four wineries set to open tasting rooms in one location, (Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards, Sones Cellars, Vino Tavi, and Bonny Doon). On a recent visit we saw that three of the tasting rooms have opened their doors, with Bonny Doon set to launch at that location in November of 2008. Luckily we will be at the Bonny Doon grand opening and will give a full report on what we feel will be a super winotripping spot. We noticed that the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards tasting room is open "most" weekends, while the others seem to be weekend ready. Hey, worst case scenario is that when you show up the tasting rooms are closed and you're forced to get a beer at the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery, and some eats at Kelly's... Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:53:53 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=12 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=12 The (ridiculously) high gas prices are screwing us at more places than just the pump. Every industry that needs to have something delivered has been greatly effected, usually having to raise prices. The wine industry in no different. Many wineries are trying to absorb this extra cost to produce the wine, but I wouldn't count on that for long. What's next? Three buck chuck? ... Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:34:11 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=11 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=11 Twitter has become a place for winotrippers to get virtually close and personal to their favorite winery and that winery's winemaking process. For example, A Donkey and Goat Winery in Berkeley, California is Tweeting along with each step of the harvest. Twisted Oak Winery, in Gold County, has been doing live wine tastings on Twitter. There are also many independent wine tasting groups producing virtual wine tasting tweets. Do a search for "wine" on Twitter and get involved! Follow us on Twitter! ... Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:04:09 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=10 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=10 There's a battle that's been brewing over the past few years, the right for out-of-state wine retailers to ship wine to California. While California wine merchants and wineries are increasingly permitted to sell to other states, it seems that without further legislation, shipping wine into Cali may become harder for those without winery credentials. So retailers from around the United States are uniting to fight for their right to party in California. I live in California, and I enjoy buying wine from local wineries, but I can't argue against an open market. I understand how it can effect California's wine makers and merchants, and I think everyone should buy as locally as they can as often as they can - but having laws in place making it illegal for a online wine merchant from Chicago to sell to a customer in California, while allowing a winery... Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:17:30 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=9 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=9 California wines have been criticized for their high alcohol levels, which can sometimes cause a harsh burning sensation in the chest. It feels a bit like heart burn. Dang... is there fire it that wine!? Wines with high alcohol levels is, in part, due to winemakers pushing the length of time the grapes stay on the vine. This, among other things, will give the wine high sugar, thus high alcohol levels. But waiting as long as possible to harvest the grapes also gives the potential of getting the most and best flavor from the grapes. The backlash is what's known to wine drinkers as "the burn" or "hot". A wine that has an unbalanced alcohol level can hurt, or bury, the big flavors of an otherwise good wine. You may also know that wines with 14% alcohol or higher get bumped to a higher tax rate in California.... Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:16:03 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=8 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=8 Endless parkways, Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Toni Soprano, and... Wine! What? Wine in New Jersey?? Many states have a growing wine industry, and New Jersey is no different. And along with vineyards comes tourists winding through "wine trails" or "wine roads", (a popular trend). Jersey has two special weekends, one in July and the other in November, where you get a wine trail passport, getting stamped at each winery along the way, (the Russian River Valley in Sonoma has a similar program). If you're in Jersey and want more info, check out http://www.newjerseywines.com... then let us know how it was. Forgetaboutit...... Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:16:21 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=7 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=7 You know... I'm tired of everyone jumping on the California-wine-hating bandwagon... and it's just because a few snooty wine critics call all California wines "high alcohol fruit bombs" that can't hold a candle to French wines. It's the old story of unreasonable backlash, fueled by wine reviewers who claim to be wine lovers. I could go on, but then I found this article from the L.A. Times that perfectly sums up my concern: http://tinyurl.com/43ubwc ... Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:09:42 -0700 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=6 http://www.winecountrytripping.com/thevine/post.php?p=6 Want to drink some wine with President F.D.R. on board his "White House on the water"? Well, the USS Potomic is offering weekend wine and eats on a cruise around the San Francisco Bay this summer. Foggy Bridge winemaker Daryl Groom, who plans to open a tasting room and winery in the Presidio in the Fall of 2008, selects the wines and food pairings. The tickets range from $120 - $150, and you're encourage to wear attire suitable for a lunch with President F.D.R. aboard his yacht, although it looks like it stops short of an actual historical re-enactment. I think I'd like it more if they had somebody playing F.D.R. That would be totally awesome! Anyone been on it yet? If so, drop us a line and let us know how it was....