The Vine : Wine Country Tastings Blog

Tasting and tripping to wines fresh off the vine.

Little Star Pizza & Sobella Pinot Noir

» posted by Rich
on 9 May 2011

Little Star Pizza & Sobella Pinot Noir

One of our go-to places in SF is Little Star Pizza. Lady Jess introduced me to this local deep dish favorite a little over a year ago, and I love it - even though I'm a New York Pizza guy who usually distrusts anything deep dish. The argument of Deep Dish vs. Thin Crust is way beyond the scope of this blog post, but suffice to say that there's nothing like a slice of NY pizza. Forgetaboutit.

Anyway, my sister Jen and her mate Derek are in town, so Lady Jess and I decided to bring them to Little Star's Mission location, (we usually go to the Divis location in our 'hood), as a change of pace. We ordered the Little Star � Spinach blended with ricotta and feta, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. I always like what I see on the ever-changing wine list, and this time we tried the Sobella Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2008, a slightly bigger Pinot tailor made for pizza. Smokey blackberries with a hint of vanilla at the finish, and the right hit of acid that makes you want to gulp the stuff. Yes, it is darker and heavier than most French Pinot, but not so much that we didn't drink two bottles of it without even thinking about it. The ALC% is above 14%, but it is finely balanced, showing no signs of the big heat. A crowd-pleaser, for sure.

» Permalink | Comments (0)

Total Wine Super Stores will make $1 Billion This Year

» posted by Rich on 2011-05-07 19:10:43

While in Vegas recently I visited my first Total Wine & More super store and I was blown away by its size and scope. I'll have a full report of my experience in my Vegas Trip recap (coming soon), but in the meantime... I just read this interview on ShakenNewsDaily.com with Total Wine co-owner David Trone, who says that they are doing very well through the recession, opening stores and thinking big. With 50% - 60% of the sales from wine, they're looking to top $1 Billion this year.

Check out the interview and stay tuned for our Vegas Recap: Total Wine & More to Break $1 Billion in Sales This Year- ShakenNewsDaily.com

» Read Complete Post | Comments (1)

App for Wineries of Dry Creek Valley

» posted by Rich on 2011-05-05 11:33:03

The WineGrowers Of Dry Creek Valley have released a free App (for Apple) to use on the run while in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley Wine Country. I haven't used it yet, but the screen shot on Apple's website shows a user-friendly wheel menu with activities, dining options, wineries, &c. We'll give it a try as soon as we can, but if anyone has already tried it out, please let us know what you think.

Here's the link on the iTunes store site:
Wineries of Dry Creek Valley

» Read Complete Post | Comments (0)

Winery of the Week: Navarro Vineyards in Mendocino

» posted by Rich on 2011-05-05 08:58:26

Some of our favorite California Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer comes from Navarro Vineyards, the great Mendocino County winery in beautiful Anderson Valley. For this we're making Navarro Vineyards our winery of the week! (click link for the WT review).

Also see our Pinot review here:
TreeHouse Tasting No.33 - Navarro Pinot Noir

» Read Complete Post | Comments (0)

Provenance Sauvignon Blanc + Ben & Jerry's

» posted by Rich on 2011-05-02 12:05:07

TreeHouse Tasting No.65: Provenance Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc

I don't know why. It was after an extended day in sunny and warm Golden Gate Park that Lady Jess and I decided that opening a bottle of Sauv Blanc and a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia FroYo was a grand idea. I ran to the corner store and found a chilled bottle of Provenance 2009 Sauvignon Blanc in their fridge next to the ice cream freezer. It was a bit more expensive than I wanted to spend on a frivolous errand, but I dropped the $13 because I had heard some good things about Provenance Vineyards. In fact, I think their 2008 Sauvignon Blanc received a score of 91 in Wine Spectator.

» Read Complete Post | Comments (0)

Where To Wino Trip In California

» posted by Rich on 2011-04-27 22:48:40

People are always asking us where to go in California for wine tasting. "Dude, where should I go?" And I always try to be as helpful as I can. But if you're ready for a California wino trip and aren't sure which region is for you, take a look at this California Wine Country Primer (see link below) we posted up last year in our Features section. This three page outline will hopefully point you in the right direction, and give you what you need to know before you go.

Check it out:
California: The WinoTripper's Primer

» Read Complete Post | Comments (0)

« Back To Page 1