Red Wine

Now Open: AVA Santa Barbara's Wine Tasting Room A Great Place For Beachside Wine

Like a lead singer with a side solo project, AVA Santa Barbara is winemaker Seth Kunin's side gig. Because Kunin Wines is a well established Santa Barbara County-based brand -- known for its Rhone-style blend, Syrah and Zinfandel -- Kunin decided to create another label, AVA Santa Barbara, to explor ... More >>

L.A.'s Wine Bars Are Better Than Ever. Here Are Our Seven Favorites

Serious Drinking: Discovering Rhone Wines at Decouvertes

Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône is a biennial wine event held up and down the Rhône Valley for four long, thrilling days, involving the systematic tasting of mostly red wine by thousands of eager tasters from all over the world, and the systematic inebriation by same each night. Each day, is roug ... More >>

Balance: A 2013 Conference, an Achievement in California Wine (and a Calder Mobile)

For the past three years, a small group of California chardonnay and pinot noir producers has gathered for a conference and tasting called In Pursuit of Balance. In past years it's been staged in San Francisco and New York; in 2013, for the first time, they brought their wines and their message to L ... More >>

New Zealand Pinots To Drink Now

At the New Zealand Consulate in Brentwood last week there was a wine tasting of that country's pinot noir. There were just 18 wines in the seminar, curated by British Master of Wine Tim Atkin; and yet this amounted to a quietly nuanced performance, demonstrating the strides that country has made wit ... More >>

5 California Winemakers On The Best "Ripe and Fleshy" Valentine's Chocolate Wine Pairings

Chocolate and wine. Could there be a more classic Valentine Day's pairing? There's one small problem: "The flavors of [dark] chocolate and wine aren't always that compatible," as a Food and Wine article summarized. Sure, there's that tannins on tannins thing, a double hit of bitter acidity in the c ... More >>

Maggie Harrison of Antica Terra: Manfred Krankl's Wayward Disciple

Oregon's Willamette Valley has been luring California winemakers for the better part of two decades -- Andrew Rich, Tony Soter, Robert Brittan, and Cheryl Frances all come to mind as not so recent transplants -- but Maggie Harrison, of Antica Terra, represents a kind of special case. In 2005 Harriso ... More >>

Colorado Wine Company: A New Location in Eagle Rock

Six weeks into their new Eagle Rock location, Colorado Wine Company buzzes. A customer asks for a "yummy" Prosecco; another wants a well-priced Chardonnay. Owner Jen Nugent quickly obliges and welcomes a couple who've arrived for the weekly Friday night wine flight tasting. At the same time the Mand ... More >>

Serious Drinking: The 2012 California Wine Harvest

The 2012 harvest looks like a return to normal for California growers statewide. After a pair of unusually cool seasons in 2010 and 2011, vintages which resulted in lower than average yields and lower than average ripeness levels, 2012 looks relatively trouble free, with good-sized yields and excell ... More >>

Serious Drinking: Peel Me A Grape

Across the state, harvest is upon us. California winemakers either are readying their crush pads for what appears to be a fairly large crop, or are out among the vine rows, tasting fruit, rolling it around on their tongues or between their fingers to determine if it's ready to pick. Last week I was ... More >>

Celebrate International Grenache Day: Party in Paso #GrenacheDay!

You'll miss no work, and the kids will still head off to school. There'll be no moment of silence, nor office parties, nor gifts exchanged. Nonetheless today, Sept. 21, is a holiday. It's Grenache Day, fool -- that one day of the year on which highly privileged people all over the world who happe ... More >>

Hope for Zinfandel: 1999 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs

Most American Zinfandels fall into two categories, explained to me recently by Doug Nalle, a Dry Creek Valley winemaker and a bit of a Zin Master in his own right. "There's BHT and AHT," he says: "Before Helen Turley, and after Helen Turley." Turley is the American winemaker who famously amped up ... More >>

3 Red Wines for Labor Day: Inexpensive, Worthy Chilled

For the last official U.S. Government-sanctioned grilling weekend you will need an arsenal of beverages with which to address the meat, a palate cleanser that only marries with the good parts but which can stand up to the grease and the gristle. A good beer? Perhaps, but a better foil involves tanni ... More >>

Rhone Rangers Wine Tasting at Vibiana This Sunday

Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir are the beloved trinity of most wine drinkers. There are many more varietals out there and this Sunday's (June 3) fifth annual Rhone Rangers Tasting at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles showcases wines grown from 22 American Rhone grape varietals. Chief a ... More >>

5 Dog-Friendly Winery Tasting Rooms

A love for wine and dogs can co-exist. People take their pets everywhere these days--dining and drinking out, no exception. Although Los Angeles has approved pets on restaurant patios (per the recent Squid Ink post), rules prohibit them inside. Nor are they welcome at bars or in the tasting rooms at ... More >>

Wine Cellar: Master Sommelier Richard Betts on "Feral" Chardonnay

We've long been keen on winemaker Greg La Follette's Pinot Noir style, his bagpipe back story and the Friday night Bingo shirts he sports at wine tasting events. He's also weathered the wine business long enough that he doesn't worry about telling the whole wine truth, and nothing but the truth (so ... More >>

Amelia Ceja of Ceja Vineyards on Wine With Mexican Food

You've picked out a good Cabernet. What should you serve with it? Beans -- Mexican beans. That's what Amelia Morán Ceja would do. Ceja is the first Mexican-American woman to head a wine production company, Ceja Vineyards. "People never thought to pair wine with Mexican food until we came along," s ... More >>

Ben Flajnik: Winemaker First, TV's The Bachelor Second

Sonoma MagazineIn the vineyard with The Bachelor and partners​Most people dream of quitting their day job to be on TV. ABC's The Bachelor Ben Flajnik says his reality star turn is a means to an end: His heart is in winemaking. (He auditioned for The Bachelorette originally as a way to pursue ... More >>

Meteorito Wine Is Out of This World, Literally

Sure, that nice vintage Cabernet Sauvignon you have sitting in your wine cellar may have notes of dark chocolate and hints of sweet cherries, but does it really taste out of this world? No? Well then, you may want to head to Chile for the Meteorito, a red wine that is infused with the potentially ... More >>

Pinot Days Is Back: How To Fit 80 Wine Producers Into An Airport Hangar A Special Discount

JGarbeeThe Pinot Days Aftermath At Barker Hanger​With so many wine festivals and tastings out there these days, forking over $60 ($54 with the 10% discount code for LA Weekly readers below) seems somewhat excessive for your everyday Chardonnay and Merlot pours. But this is Pinot Days, the ann ... More >>

A New (Year) Of Wine Books: Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest... For Bargain Wines

Aspirin, caffeine, blowfish. What really cures a 2012 hangover (Happy, happy by the way)? We're going with cheap -- but good -- wine. Sure, 'tis this time of year for New Year's resolution cliches. But as wine journalist Natalie MacLean is well aware, the key is finding those bargain wines that ac ... More >>

Wine Gifts From The Other Guy, Courtesy Of Your Humble Grower

Ah, the holiday party wine gifting season. That time of year when you'll inevitably spot a bottle of Shafer Hillside Select sporting a shiny red bow among the hostess gifts -- right as you hand over a $19.99 Cabernet you snagged off the Ralph's weekly special list on the way to the boss' house (but ... More >>

Italian Wine Pairings for Thanksgiving

Why not try an Italian wine with Thanksgiving dinner? Consider that most L.A. Thanksgiving dinners break away from the traditional heavier dishes of the East Coast and Midwest. It's highly doubtful that the cousins in Kansas are serving anything akin to Ammo's take home menu, featuring charcuterie p ... More >>

Dave Matthews Introduces Line of Wines: The Dreaming Tree

It's a different kind of crush for Dave Matthews. He may not want you to drink the water, but the musician has collaborated with award-winning winemaker Steve Reeder to create a line of vino they're calling Dreaming Tree Wines, after the Dave Matthews Band track "The Dreaming Tree" from the 1998 alb ... More >>

5 Ways To Celebrate The Release of Beaujolais Nouveau 2011

Guzzle and Nosh​ Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé! Did you know that the 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau wines are being released at midnight tomorrow,Thursday, the 17th? Are you excited? The vintners of France would very much like you to be, and they would like you to buy a bottle or four, uncork th ... More >>

Silverlake Wine: Best Weekly Wine Tastings

Kathy A. McDonaldNo attitude, pretension-free wine tastings blow up weekly at Silverlake Wine ​Is Silverlake Wine a religion? Consider what makes it so: Devoted followers, a weekly schedule and a straight-up welcoming-to-all philosophy of no pretension at this neighborhood wine shop that speci ... More >>

The Chef vs. The Sommelier: Fig Restaurant's Pinot Chardonnay Face-Off

flickr user cherylknauerPinot or Chardonnay?​When we popped by Fig in Santa Monica recently for a Happy Hour glass of wine, sommelier Matthew Lehman was happy to chat about the new Fig Pinot Noir we spied on the menu -- Lehman helped make it under the watchful eye of La Fenetre winemaker Josh ... More >>

AC/DC Launches Wine Collection

Daily Mail​ For those about to drink, AC/DC would like you to try their Shiraz. The Australian band has joined forces with New South Wales-based winery Warburn Estate to produce four bottled varieties named after their biggest hits, the (UK) Daily Mail reports. AC/DC The Wine selections incl ... More >>

Wine Report: Flip-Flops For Summer Sips?

JgarbeeMatching Placemat Optional​It's summer. So yeah, call us beach party poopers, but the very name association of flip-flops and wine makes us nervous. We're having visions of FlipFlop Wine advertising campaigns featuring Chardonnay bottles half-buried in the sand and sporting the latest i ... More >>

Indulge Wines Debuts The AstraPouch In California

JGarbeeJust Add Pie​Wine in a bottle, wine in a box, wine inside a bag inside a box. Just when you think the bagged wine market is over saturated, the AstraPouch makes its U.S. debut. New York's Glenora Wine Cellars was the first American wine producer to pouch its Riesling and Chardonnay last ... More >>

David Haskell's Magnum Wine Pairings: Or, Adventures in Apricots, Uni & Potato Chips

emdot/Flickr​ Los Angeles sommelier David Haskell (Le Cirque, Bin 8945) -- whose Magnum event with chef Joseph Mahon at Royal/T on April 17th through April 19th will benefit the Japanese sake industry devastated by March's earthquake and tsunami -- usually likes to tell a story when he does a ... More >>

Wine Shop Report: Has Trader Joe's Grown Up Since Two Buck Chuck?

J. GarbeeThe Partial Trader Joe's Tasting, Including That Il Valore Sangiovese ​Welcome to the wine shop tasting edition of Squid Ink, an occasional roundup of current offerings at select local wine shops. Take note of the word "select," as it basically means those we can afford. As in, this w ... More >>

$80 Wine Beats $5,000 Wine in Blind Pinot Noir Taste Test

​A bottle of New Zealand pinot noir edged out several high-profile French and Californian wines to take the top spot in a recent blind tasting. Talk about bottle shock. Courtesy of World's Top 20 Pinot NoirsTim Fleming judges a pinot noir.​Proving that price is no guaranteed determiner ... More >>

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Dana Farner On Whiskey Sectarianism, Why It's Okay to Drink Your Dinner [The Idiocy of] Green Beer

Anne FishbeinSommelier Dana Farner ​It is St. Patrick's Day, a time to remind ourselves while eating the traditional corned beef and cabbage (which will be popping up on every restaurant menu) that the All-American salt-cured brisket dish is as native to Ireland as fajitas is to Mexico or G ... More >>

Big Table Farm: From Pigs To Prosciutto Really Great Pinot Noir

bigtablefarm.comEverything Is House Made At Big Table Farm​There are the obvious reasons to start a food or beverage business. You love 16 hour workdays, wearing a back brace, and explaining (again) to customers why your small-batch goat cheese costs a few bucks more than the generic grocery s ... More >>

Q & A With Adam Carolla: His Sledgehammer Wine, Jimmy Kimmel's Pizza Oven, "Mangria" Where to Eat Pie

​ It only took him 35 years, but Adam Carolla finally learned to stop worrying and love wine. Well, at least the part about loving wine is true. The Manny Pacquaio-bashing, Antonio Villaraigosa-hating comedian, budding podcast entrepreneur and notorious complainer recently declared Sledgehamm ... More >>

Q & A With Winemaker Rolando Herrera of Mi Sueño, Part 2: Out Of The Trenches And Into Wine The 2010 Harvest

Mi Sueño WineryRolando Herrera​When we left off yesterday's baseball and Cabernet chat with Mi Sueño Winery's Rolando Herrera, the winemaker was recalling how he wound up in a hard labor construction job at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (he thought he was being recruited for grape vine pruning). ... More >>

A Recipe From The Chef (And Winemaker): Rolando Herrera's Syrah Marinated Rack Of Lamb

flickr user another pint pleaseEven Lambs Love A Good Syrah​Judging by our two-part interview, Mi Sueño owner-winemaker Rolando Herrera is the sort of guy who can talk about baseball and winemaking dreams one minute, the hard-ass work he put in as a teenager just to survive the next -- and m ... More >>

Pinot Days 2011: Wine And Mushroom Bisque Sips At Barker Hangar

J. GarbeePinot Days 2010​Tasting through West Coast Pinot Noirs from nearly 100 producers typically requires a long drive up the I-5. But this Saturday, January 15th, you can taste through the offerings of 90 producers at Pinot Days, the second coming of the event at Santa Monica's Barker Han ... More >>

Q & A With Winemaker Greg LaFollette: On Bagpipes, Mouth Feel And Pinot Noir Love

Lafollettewines.comGreg La Follette And Assistant Winemaker Simone Sequeira​In the winemaking scene, "getting around" is all part of the gig. The best winemakers handle the grapes at various wineries throughout their career, and often more than one winery at a time, before they find "the one." ... More >>

Q & A With Winemaker Greg La Follette, Part 2: What 6 Kids Will Do To Your Pinot Noir

lafollettewines.comGreg LaFollette's True Love​When we first spoke with Greg La Follette, winemaker at his namesake La Follette Wines, he was telling us how making wine isn't all that different from playing the bagpipes. And why getting to know Pinot Noir isn't all that different from taking o ... More >>

Pinot Days, Shunning Merlot since 2009, Returns in January

Mr. T in DC/Flickr​Maybe it's all the praise it received in Sideways, or maybe it's just damn good wine. Either way, Pinot Noir has been put on a pedestal of sorts ever since Miles and Maya sipped it on the big screen, a fact made more apparent with the second coming of Pinot Days, a single-m ... More >>

Thanksgiving Wine Pairings: You Could Ask Your Sommelier, Or Go Straight To The Source

Flickr user nevadadanThanksgiving With A Vineyard View​We spend a lot of time figuring out what to serve for Thanksgiving dinner, but how about what to serve with all of those competing homemade flavors? Asking sommeliers their pairing opinion is laudable, but can be like querying star chefs f ... More >>

Review: You Can Get Drunk at GelatoVino, But Not on Ice Cream

You can't actually get drunk on GelatoVino's gelati, but what their dense, creamy, custom-made flavors lack in intoxication, they make up for in flavor. Owned by the prince of East Hollywood, George Abou-Daoud (Bowery, District, Mercantile, Tamarind Avenue Deli and more), GelatoVino opened in mid ... More >>

Top 10 Wine And Band Pairings: Or, How About Some Air Supply With That $2 Chuck?

Flickr user 1808wineThe Vintage Cadillac Essentials​Heavy metal drinking is really the only excuse for naming a wine Sledgehammer. Either that, or you're a mega-millions corporate exec type trying to hook us on cheap inexpensive wine (see #2 when you turn the page). And so begets a Top Ten lis ... More >>

Wine Hair Gel, Or What to Do With That Crappy Bottle of Merlot from Your Last Dinner Party

Thank goodness for hair gel. Now we can all finally get over our Sideways "I'm not drinking any f#cking merlot!" complex. Of course, we all know that celebrity hairstylist Ted Gibson makes a mean cocktail party chignon (a fancy and expensive name for your grandmom's bun). Now he's added a line of wi ... More >>

Steaked Out: Argentine Food Beyond the Parrillada

Case Sensitivity

A wine by any other name would be... misspelled

A Swish Best Served Cold

Hot and bothered over red wine protocol

Burbank/Glendale/Eagle Rock