Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels

IntoWine asked our panel of experts to share their recommendations for the best wine to pair with Mexican cuisine: Mexican food is a cornucopia of ingredient s on a plate and to find a wine to work with the diversity of flavors isn’t easy. But the Kalyra Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 6 ($22) from Santa Ynez is full of black cherry, dark raspberry, oak and pomegranate combining to create a surprisingly rich cab with an acidic backbone that can stand up to grilled meats like carne asada and the subtle nuances of rice and beans. It’s also dynamite with guacamole! Not a powerful cab, the growing condition in Santa Barbara County allow it to be mild and charming. - Michael Cervin , Wine Judge, Restaurant Critic, and IntoWine Featured Writer

IntoWine asked our panel of experts to share their recommendations for the best wine to pair with a tomato & mozzarella (Caprese) salad: Laraneta Sangiovese ($25). Ripe with raspberry, pomegranate, oak and wood notes this is another success from this small family owned winery located near Paso Robles. Simply put, their wines are just great to drink and taste wonderful. A long finish and a mild spice, it holds up against the acidity of the tomato and compliments with soft timid cheese. This wine is compelling and I usually lean toward an Italian wine with Italian food. One of the great hallmarks of a great wine is how quickly you tend to consume it; this sangiovese is deceptively good and will disappear from your glass too quickly. - Michael Cervin , Wine Judge, Restaurant Critic, and IntoWine Featured Writer

Our Baseball and Wine series combines wine with the great American pastime. What are the fan appropriate wines to serve for your team? Baseball and Wine: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Baseball and Wine: San Francisco Giants Baseball and Wine: Texas Rangers Baseball and Wine: Philadelphia Phillies Baseball and Wine: Detroit Tigers Baseball and Wine: Baltimore Orioles Baseball and Wine: New York Mets Baseball and Wine: New York Yankees

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Texas Rangers themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Rangers fan? If you've ever met a native Texan, you already know that residents of the Lone Star State love their state, its history, its culture and, especially, its sports teams. Although the Texas Rangers are a transplant to the Lone Star State – the team began its Major League Baseball existence as the expansion Washington Senators team in 1961 – residents of the Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington metro areas have learned to love their baseball team. Named for the world-famous Texas Ranger Division of law enforcement officers founded by Stephen F. Austin, the Rangers baseball team has transformed itself from losing transplant into a winning franchise.

Georges Duboeuf is practically a legend. Originally from the Pouilly-Fuissé region of Burgundy , Duboeuf was raised on a small farm where his family owned a few acres of Chardonnay vines. His father died when Georges was young, therefore his uncle and older brother, Roger, took over the business. Duboeuf helped out on the family vineyard growing up, even using the manual grape crusher when he was just six years old. By age 18 he was delivering wine on his bicycle from producers to local restaurants. He began bottling Beaujolais to meet one of his customer's demands. Duboeuf became a négociant in 1964, when he founded Les Vins Georges Duboeuf. He is best known for Beaujolais Nouveau, though he produces many others. His wines now hold world-wide appeal and are sold in an astonishing 120 countries.

Wine has been made in Texas as far back as the late 1700s when the Spanish planted the underwhelming Mission grape. Today the state is the 5th largest producer of wine in the U.S., which may surprise you; however the caveat for Texas wines is that most of it is consumed by the 25 million dedicated Texans who drink it before the rest of us can get hold of some. “There’s a pent up demand for Texas wines,” admits Grape Creek Vineyard owner Brian Heath. And let’s face facts, Texas and the rest of the U.S. have had little to drink wine-wise except for what California produces, and now, with the help of the slow food movement, and awareness of all things “local,” states want to drink what they make.

France’s Loire Valley, is home to many great wines including the region of Vouvray, the home of Chenin Blanc. While Chenin Blanc wines are made around the world, perhaps nowhere else makes such distinctive and wonderful wines from that grape as the Loire Valley. The Loire Valley is in northeastern France and Vouvray is located east of the city of Tours along the right bank of the Loire River.

Talbott Vineyards in Monterey Country is one of the regions top Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producers. Owner Robb Talbott, son of Robert Talbott who started a high end clothing line in the 1950s, first planted vineyards in 1982 and quickly established his label as one of the premier wineries in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Though much has changed in Monterey County in the last 30 years, Talbott nonetheless continues to craft wines that truly reflect a sense of place.

Doug Frost is a Kansas City author who writes and lectures about wine, beer and spirits. He passed the rigorous Master Sommelier (MS) examination and two years later became America’s eighth Master of Wine (MW). He is one of only three people in the world to have achieved both these remarkable distinctions, and he’s sincerely a nice guy. Doug is also the author of three books on wine including “ Far From Ordinary: The Spanish Wine Guide.” He is a contributor to the Oxford Companion of Wine, and writes about wine and spirits for many publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, Underground Wine Journal, Drinks International, Practical Winery & Vineyard, Wines & Vines, Wines & Spirits, Cheers Magazine, Santé Magazine, and Epicurious.com, and he is the beverage columnist for the James Beard award-winning food section of the Kansas City Star .

Treasure Island Wines® is the first Treasure Island Winery and tasting room founded in 2007 by intrepid brothers James and Paul Mirowski. Dedicated to making “affordable luxury” artisan wines minutes from downtown San Francisco, Treasure Island Wines is a “micro winery” that incubates other “micro wineries” with a small complementary collective of alternating proprietorships including Bravium and Eristavi. What prompted you to pursue winemaking as a career? I studied at UC Davis and had been a serious home winemaker for well over a decade when I discovered the former Naval PX on Treasure Island. It was a perfect spot to make wine – with the infrastructure in place from the food processing. Consistent temperatures – drained paver floors - high humidity- three points of access for processing/large equipment to get in and out. There isn’t another comparable facility on the island.