Month: August 2016

A Frenchman in Napa Valley

In the past two decades or so, Napa Valley wines have had a profound impact on the global wine industry, influencing how "good" wine taste, how wine should be made (fermentation practices, barrel aging, alcohol content), and certainly how to market wine to consumers.  This influence extends even to France, which has a much longer wine making … Continue reading A Frenchman in Napa Valley

You don’t have to swim upstream to eat here

One of our favorite destinations in California is the town of Jenner, a spot known as the "River's End" where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean. There is something majestic about two bodies of water coming together and this particular location is no exception.  On top of a bluff overlooking this amazing spot sits a fantastic … Continue reading You don’t have to swim upstream to eat here

Wine With A ‘Tude.

American playwright Edward Albee ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf") once wrote:  "Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance."  That is, more or less, how we found our way to Etude Wines, a winery located in the Carneros region of the Napa Valley.  On … Continue reading Wine With A ‘Tude.

Wine that fits the bill

Writing a blog can take up a significant amount of precious free time, especially if you feel compelled, as we do, to post at least once a week.  With the pressure of jobs, kids, dogs, and the rest of life, we sometimes ask ourselves "is it worth it?"  Just when one of us feels like taking … Continue reading Wine that fits the bill

It’s All Greek To Me.

Tarla Mediterranean Bar & Grill in Napa is located on First Street in the heart of our town.  For the two-and-a-half years that we have lived here, we had been there exactly ...zero times.  In our defense, while we have heard many good things about it, we just had not made it there.  What finally … Continue reading It’s All Greek To Me.