While blending our 2016 Glenwood Cellars wines last year, I was presented with the opportunity to produce a Merlot, something I had never considered before. I knew that the popularity of Merlot had declined since the late 1990s…
2016, Ballentine, Bruce Devlin, Glenwood Cellars Merlot, Napa Valley wine, red wine
Over the years of writing my blog I have said many times the main purpose of the blog is to inform and educate all of us, myself included, on all things to do with wine. One of my fun topics and missions is to introduce you to different varietals of wine. In the past we have discussed Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis and so on. Today I have selected a new wine/grape to report on called Grenache (pronounced “gra-nosh”) which is a relatively unknown grape in the United States…
Dark Star Cellars, Grenache, red wine
One evening several weeks ago I was rummaging around in my wine cellar looking for a bottle of wine to drink that evening and I came across a bottle of Three Clicks Malbec from Napa made by Bruce Devlin, one of our winemakers. I hadn’t had any Malbec recently so it quickly became…
2014 Achaval-Ferrer Finca Bella Vista Malbec, 2016 Cepas Privadas Limited Edition Argentinean Malbec, 3 Clicks, France, Malbec, red wine
When did you last drink a glass of Merlot wine? For most wine drinkers it was most likely some time ago, if at all. The popularity of Merlot wine started to fall off in the late 1990s into the mid 2000s. This decline took place as Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir grew in popularity and surpassed Merlot. Sales of the wine drove to much lower levels than any other time in the history of the wine…
California wines, Merlot, red wine
Cabernet Franc (“cab-err-nay fronk”) is a wine that is most likely not in what is referred to as your “wine safety zone.” Unless you are intentionally trying to educate your palate and/or feel adventurous in your wine drinking we often have a tendency to stay in our wine safety zone…
Brenton, Cabernet Franc, red wine, wine and food