Wines I Tried & Liked...A Lot!

Frank Family Vineyards, Napa Valley Chardonnay, 2006: spoken along the same lines as Rombauer. 'Nuf said. Tasted many places including Artisan Wine Bar in Walnut Creek.

Patz and Hall “Hyde Vineyard”, Carneros Chardonnay. Heavy hitter on name and price but excellent. Tasted at Prima's in Walnut Creek.

Jade Mountain (now owned by Chalone) 2004 Mourvedre. I love Mourvedre and this one speaks volumes. Great price too. Can be found for near $20. Wonderful with ribs.

Posted by Steven Ross at 11:36 AM 0 comments

July's Gray Skies
From blistering heat a couple weeks ago to well below normal temperatures on the 20th and 21st shows the wide variety of weather the Bay Area can experience during the summer. Ocean temps were running extremely cold, upper 40s, during June. By early July, we lost the upwelling and SST's (sea surface temps) warmed to near 60. By the 21st, some cooler temps were back with low to mid 50s now being reported outside the Golden Gate and off the Marin Coast. Look for a decrease in the fog Tuesday and Wednesday as a more northerly breeze takes over and temps warm a bit. Fog should re-group to cool conditions down again by the weekend.

Of note: torrential thunderstorms dropped .86 on Palm Springs Sunday. Highs in Las Vegas and Palm Desert were barely able to reach 90. Flooding was reported in Palm Springs. Thunderstorms will continue in the Sierra and Northeast California with Flash Flood Watches posted for Reno as well. Tahoe/Truckee are not under the watch but afternoon showers are possible. An area of Low Pressure is moving in off the Mendocino Coast. This is adding the lift and instability. It's also increased the fog for us along with wind for cooler daytime highs.

Posted by Steven Ross at 9:08 AM 0 comments

Napa News

Been to Downtown Napa lately? If not, you might want to reconsider. Things are booming so instead of driving north along Highway 29 without giving Napa proper a look, take a moment to discover what's going on. Lots of options including the new River Walk which recently opened. Napa's version of San Francisco's Ferry Building is Oxbow Public Market next to Copia. I highly recommend the Wine & Cheese Merchant plus wine bar. Ironically, Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle Travel Section (July 20th) highlighted downtown Napa as a tourist destination. Cool wine shops, nice places to eat including critically acclaimed Ubuntu, make Napa, the town, a place to check out, not avoid anymore.

Wines To Consider from Wine Merchant:Red: 2005 Blockheadia Ringnosii Zinfandel Sonoma County, California. Not your typical Zin. Doesn't blow you out of the chair with heavy pepper. Lots of fruit. Really good.

White: 2006 Watershed Chardonnay Margaret River, Western Australia. Under $20 so the nice price. No oak. Screwcap Aussie Chard is crisp and refreshing. More mineral and citrus. A style making major strides as the buttery and okay Chards seem to be losing interest.

Posted by Steven Ross at 8:15 A