We were honored to host 48 Masters of Wine from all over the world on Sunday, October 21st as part of their extensive California Dreamin’ tour. The visit began with a tour of the historic Monte Bello winery. We then… Read More ›

1985 Monte Bello
The Three-Martini Lunch May Have Gone The Way Of The Buffalo, But This ’85 Monte Bello …
…sure goes the way of the lamb! Braised & Pressed Lamb Shoulder with Mint Salsa Verde, that is! Thank you to our wonderful friends at Culinary Eye; great culinary talents that they are, they also sure know how to host… Read More ›
Sunday Morning Coming Up: Thoughts From The Morning After The Night Of The Harvest Party
Every year we throw a harvest party, in honor of the completed season. It’s essentially an internal happening, and it’s quite an affair, to say the least. A great deal of the event focus goes on the vineyard teams and their… Read More ›
A Lullaby of #CabernetDay -or- Monte Bello Confidential
The IronChevsky and I go way back. He was actually there for the debut of our #WineBloggersTasting Series. That was the day the bloggers took on Robert Parker. It had been a while since I’d seen The IronChevsky. He’s a… Read More ›
VERY SPECIAL #CabernetDay tasting at #RidgeVineyards!
VERY SPECIAL #CabernetDay tasting at #RidgeVineyards! See all those hashmarks in the post title? That’s social-media speak right there, that is! And what is #CabernetDay? #CabernetDay is a date & time synchronized, WORLDWIDE, human-universal, mojo-interactive, spirit-joyful celebration of this most legendary of varietals; a happening… Read More ›
A Monte Bello Vertical: Video Prep & Haiku Notes
I very recently had the opportunity to prepare, serve, and taste a rather preposterously fine vertical of Monte Bello: the 2011 first assemblage, a 2010 barrel sample, and the 2009, (which is in bottle, but not yet released), plus the 1978,… Read More ›
The Last Chance Monte Bello …
It’s her last chance Her timing’s all wrong Her last chance She can’t idle this long Her last chance Turn her over and go Pullin’ out of the last chance texaco The last chance –from “The Last Chance Texaco” by… Read More ›