Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels

The Napa Valley’s landscape is renowned for its rolling hillsides and lush valley floor where endless waves of vineyard create glorious stretches of views. The Napa Valley’s terroir gives life to vines that produce famous California wines and this place is where prestigious wineries and estate vineyards make their homes. When you encounter the Napa Valley it is impossible not to be enraptured by the beauty, abundance, and romantic atmosphere this place exudes. Visiting wineries adorned with the best views of Napa’s luscious landscape pairs perfectly with the extraordinary wine produced by them. Napa Valley wineries place an immense value on the sweeping vineyard scenery thus securing it as one of the many Napa Valley luxuries sought out among wine novices and connoisseurs alike.

California has actually been making outstanding wines from the Pinot Noir grape for a long time. Sure, not long in the Burgundian sense but going back at least to the middle of the last century there were good bottles of Pinot Noir being produced in California. Not many to be sure, but there were some. Starting slowly, in the 1990’s, and then exploding when the movie Sideways came out, there are now more and more offerings of good to excellent Pinot Noir being produced in California.

Forty-five dollars is a lot of money to spend on a bottle of wine. Yet, it is also a threshold pricing for wine. For many people, that is the most they are willing to spend on a bottle. For others, that is a typical Tuesday night pizza wine. The real question is what kind of quality you can get for that price. Unfortunately, the best wines often cost more. On the other hand, spending more does not guarantee quality. With that in mind, this article turns its attention to Italy in general and Tuscany in particular.

Part two of Michael Cervin's series on the superstitions and rituals common to the wine industry. See part 1 . Human beings are creatures of habit and routine, of hope and faith, and sometimes that faith comes in the form of a ritual, superstition, or a specific custom they employ during harvest, verasion, fermentation, planning, maybe even passport weekends! So what do winemakers reveal about their own habits, rituals, and superstitions? We asked them to tell us their secrets of how they hope each vintage is the perfect vintage.

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. When we decided to come up with a list of Sonoma wineries with the most awe inspiring views, we surveyed over 100 of the area’s top vintners. The following wineries were pervasive throughout our survey results.

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. There are certain syrahs—and the wineries who make them—that should be on every syrah-inspired Sonoma wine tour. To get a list of the top of the top, we surveyed over 100 Sonoma wine producers for their favorite syrahs in Sonoma.

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. Sonoma offers some of the country’s finest sparkling wines—but we wanted to find the best of the best. So, we surveyed over a hundred area vintners for their professional picks on sparkling wines that no self-respecting wine enthusiast should leave Sonoma without tasting.

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. If your small group is looking for a picnic experience in Sonoma—we have the list of top wineries for a unique experience. To help create a list of the best of the best, we went to the most knowledgeable people in the area: local vintners. We surveyed more than a hundred wine producers in Sonoma asking for their recommendations for the best wineries for a small group picnic.

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. If sauvignon blanc tops your list of white wine favorites, then you simply can’t visit Sonoma without adding the following wineries to your list.

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. Whether you’re looking for the most romantic spot to pop the question, or simply want to rekindle the romance—the Sonoma wineries below offer wonderfully romantic settings. To help us decide on the top wineries for a romantic blanket picnic, we asked more than 100 local vintners for their recommendations.