Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels

Tim Halloran's piece on Thanksgiving Reds can be viewed here . Thanksgiving dinner, while delicious and nutritious (well, at least delicious) is not the easiest meal to pair with wines. So many different elements are present; there are savory/mild foods like turkey, gravy, yams and potatoes, crisp/acidic foods like cranberry sauce and salads, and hearty foods like ham and stuffing. Throw in a few other vegetables and you have a veritable cornucopia of flavors and textures to match.

It's almost like a Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film. A young man meets the woman of his dreams after his sailboat is chased ashore by a hurricane. Marriage and career success ensue and years later the happy couple end up running a Sonoma winery that just so happens to produce some of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in all of California. Yes, Ken Freeman's life story may indeed be one of which movies are made. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Ken Freeman about his eponymous winery, Freeman Vineyard and Winery , as well as his unique path to becoming a revered wine maker.

Everyone talks about oak in wine, or the lack of it. It is such a prominent matter of conversation that any wine-tasting in the world will inevitably be seasoned with talk of the wood that has become the number one natural container of choice in the world for winemakers. But what is oak? Why is it so important? Why do some winemakers use oak while others eschew it in favor of other containers like stainless steel?

This is the third installment of my three part series on Barolo. In part one we looked at the wine and its history , in part two we examined the modernist versus traditionalist debate , and in this part we will look more closely at some of the finest vineyards to be found anywhere in the world. Then we will also examine the extraordinary string of good and great vintages Piemonte has enjoyed and that are available on store shelves now.

In Shakespeare's classic "Romeo and Juliet," the heroine pointedly asked, "What's in a name?" There is a universal truth to our moniker, they are our identity, our essence. A quick glance at the wine industry reveals that the majority of wineries are named after their owners. However, amid all those surnames are a few winery names that beg explaination.

Brice Cutrer Jones is virtually synonymous with California Chardonnay (Hint: Sonoma- Cutrer Chardonnay ). The logical assumption is that the topic de jour of any interview with him would be Chardonnay. However, I recently sat down with Cutrer Jones to discuss - of all things- his foray into Pinot...