When your Mom wants to visit the place that makes her favorite wine, Joseph Phelps Vineyards Insignia, there’s only one way to respond: “Let’s go!” An iconic Napa Valley winery, it’s a short, windy-road drive to get to Joseph Phelps from the storied Silverado Trail road. We rolled into the winery and sat down with [More]
The Pleasures of Geyserville: A Place, A Bottle, A Memory
When I think of Geyserville, CA, I am reminded of two things: pizza and Ridge Vineyards. While the best pizza I ever ate episode has been documented on this fair blog, I returned home to Seattle to be transported back to this small town via a wine named for the same place. The 2010 Ridge [More]
Bake and Destroy’s Vegan Green Bean Casserole Pizza and Dry Riesling
Do you find vegans take themselves too seriously? Lacking a bit in the fun department? Well get ready to smash those stereotypes with Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans by Natalie Slater. I was sent a promotional copy, checked out some of the recipes, and the wheels started turning. You might wonder what [More]
A Conversation With Michael Mondavi
A couple months ago I had the chance to have lunch with Michael Mondavi, set up by Glodow Nead Communications. Naturally, I expected to discuss wine, the history of Napa Valley, and family. (I had met his daughter, Dina, earlier in the year. A recap of our time together is on Foodista.) We ended up [More]
Corison Winery Cabernet: Serendipity in St. Helena
I had tasted Corison Winery Cabernet Sauvignon on one previous occasion, recall really liking it, and them promptly moved on to about 1,000 other things/bottles. I recently passed by the winery in St. Helena, CA, on my way to Sonoma, and told my Mom, “Hey, there’s Corsion.” End of story. Until a Twitter moment happened: [More]
Geyserville, CA: Discovering Valdiguie and the Best Pizza Ever at Diavola
When contemplating Geyserville, CA, my thoughts initially turn to wine. But now it’s focused on the best pizza I ever ate, which you can find at Diavola. OK, I still think a lot about wine. And one of the things I love about Diavola is that while you are waiting for your pizza to emerge [More]
Nalle Winery Zinfandel Makes You Smart
I’ve been a big fan Zinfandel from Nalle Winery for a long time. There was an end-of-the-shift moment at a wine shop I was working at, surrounded by a panoply of open wine bottles, where I kept coming back to this wine from California’s Dry Creek Valley. Why? Well, it was an astonishingly different take [More]
