Drink the Bottles

  Nestled 600 feet about the valley floor in the Coombsville Region of Napa Valley, you will find a winery that is off the beaten path.  This isn't just any winery.  It is a very special place with incredibly friendly people and delicious wines.  Porter Family Vineyards farms 14 acres of vineyards, concentrating primarily on Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.  Here are some of the highlights of our recent visit to this magical place. Our visit started with a semi-sweet and refreshing cool glass of 2020 Sandpiper Rosé.  We arrived at Porter Family Vineyards just before 1:30pm and the sun was in full force with a temperature reaching 90 degrees.  This wine was a welcome sight and very  tasty! Our host for the tour and tasting was Luis.  He was super friendly, knowledgeable and has a true passion for the wines and the property.  A good winery host can make or break a tasting experience and we felt very lucky to have Luis show us around.  He told us that he is getting married later this yea

  Wine tasting fees.  How much are they and why do I pay them? We recently returned from an incredible wine country adventure that took place in Sonoma and Napa, California over three full days.  While we were there, our wine-loving group of six had the opportunity to visit nine wineries.  Wait, that's not right.  We added a tenth winery, but it was literally for just a glass of wine as they couldn't squeeze us in for a tasting. Prior to the trip, we had combed over our options, created a whiteboard and mapped out best practices based on location, time of day and whether or not we had any "must see" properties.  It turns out that we did.  So much has changed since the last time we were in Napa ... including the wine tasting fees!  Don't get me wrong.  We weren't blindsided and we had our eyes wide open when creating our plans.  Most of the wineries we were visiting were what we would classify as very special places.  These weren't the 5,000,000 cases of bo

  It was a great day for a wine tasting.  But then again, isn't  any  day perfect to gather for some vino?   Our group of six gathered at our home (aka DrinkTheBottles  HQ) for a virtual wine tasting provided by our friends at Rodney Strong Wine Estates .  This tasting was promoted as a media tasting and we invited our friends to enjoy some new wines.  Whenever we have a virtual tasting we always try to include others.  It would be a shame to "waste" six bottles of wine on two people. The folks at Rodney Strong Wine Estates have been going through a makeover, or a REJUVENATION as they call it, for the last 3 years.  They have touched every part of the business from the estate, the vineyards, the tasting room, the personnel and, as you may notice, the logo/label! The lineup consisted of six unique and flavorful wines.  The winery proves that you don't have to be expensive to enjoy quality wines.   We tasted these wines in order: 2020 Rodney Strong Rose of Pinot Noir, R

Things in the world right now are weird, to say the least.  No matter which side of science you are on, the current global pandemic has wreaked havoc in everyone's daily lives, including their business.  As of this writing, many wineries are still closed while others are offering outdoor tasting experiences.  Long gone are the days of intimate cave tours, barrel tastings, winery tours and unique experiences - at least for now.  Virtual tastings are becoming a 'thing' with smart savvy winery operators, but there are so many options in the world.  What's the best wine on the market?  This article will explain some of the ways that digital ambassadors (wine bloggers) can help wineries. In today's digital world of electronic payments, on-demand everything and the universe at our fingertips, the visibility of wine is absolutely crucial.  Wine bloggers can help wineries and wine brands expand their digital footprint with exposures to new audiences. Whether it's Gen-Z,

Spring is the most pleasant time of the year. Days start to get longer and warmer, and spending time outside suddenly feels very inviting. The green gets greener, the blue sky turns brighter and flowers blooming everywhere it all seems magical. Well, and it is, at least here in Portugal! Porto  is Portugal's second largest city and was elected  Best European Destination 2017  and  awarded as European Leading Destination 2018 . Every year the city attracts thousands of tourists eager to discover the ancient downtown, the typical riverside with colorfully painted houses, to get lost in century old streets, to enjoy the Portuguese cuisine and, of course, to taste wine. It´s great to be outdoors during the spring months. To take a walk along the lavish green Douro's landscape taking your time to relax or to sail the Douro River and breathe for a while. Moreover, if you are thinking that the perfect setting would include a Port Wine tasting and maybe some delicious food a

As I sit here in a hotel room in Ohio for business for a few days, I decided to unwind a bit after a fifteen hour day of travel and work.  Luckily for me, the hotel is brand new, modern, comfortable and yes - it has a relatively-fully stocked bar.  The day didn't call for two fingers of straight Kentucky bourbon as travels often do.  So, against my better judgement, I decided to order the "house" Cabernet.  Those of you who have followed me both with this and the Midwest Wine Guy  wine blogs know that I'm a Cab snob.  No, not a snob, but rather an aficionado of Cabernet and really any wine that is made well.  So, I order the Cabernet, walk outside to the lounge area and make a phone call.   Wanting to unwind from the day before dinner, I thought I'd sip a bit and catch up on emails and text messages that had been given their pecking order throughout the day.  And when I put the wine to my lips, I immediately shook my head.  I wasn't mad at the hotel for