All posts tagged: Sonoma Wine

Cline Cellars – 2011 Live Oak Zinfandel

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I’m finding this time in quarantine to be a wonderful time to drink those wines I’ve been holding on to. This week I finally opened up a 2011 Cline Cellars Live Oak Zinfandel from Contra Costa County. I love Cline wines and I love what they do. They practice their own sustainable farming they have named “The Green String Method.” With minimal human intervention, they use sheep and goats to clear the weeds from the vineyard and cover crops to feed the soil. They reuse all organic waste and compost it, then introduce it into the vineyard through the drip irrigation system. Volcanic rock is crushed to add minerals to the earth and owls are used for pest control. Furthermore, 100% of the energy used on the farm is solar. These sustainable practices are not only good for the environment, but the wines are also absolutely fantastic! I used to belong to the wine club because I love every one of their wines and their winemaking style. Big, bold, delicious! The 2011 Live Oak Zinfandel …

Featured Wine (Event) of the Week

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Happy Wine Wednesday!  I’m dreaming of bubbles this morning after attending a super fun event put on by J Vineyards at the PaliHouse in Los Angeles.  It was advertised as a wine and cheese interactive tasting led by Winemaker Nicole Hitchcock of J Vineyards and Francois Robin of Fromage France, followed by a cheese and wine soiree. So, let me get this straight…one of my favorite Sonoma wineries was putting on an event with a French Cheesemonger? Um….yes!  Yes please! I’m not sure what I expected, but I did not expect the wonderful cheese and wine extravaganza I got to enjoy!  There was a bar pouring four beautiful wines from J Vineyards:  J Sparkling Brut Rose, J Cuvee 20, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir.  More on those in a moment…  There was a giant table in the middle of the courtyard filled with several different French cheeses, including Brillat-Severin, Tomme de Savoie, Bleu D’Auvergne, and Beaufort.  There were olives, almonds, berries, honey, and of course, the requisite bread. Oh. My. God.  I was in heaven! As …