Leaping Horse Vineyard ~ More Than a Leap of Faith
PHOTO: Jo Diaz SAMPLE: Quintessential Wines for Ironstone Vineyards: Listening to “There’s No Way,” an upbeat Powerwalk Playlist on Spotify… I’ve got this 2017 Leaping Horse Vineyard Chardonnay wine sitting on my desk, waiting to be opened; screwcap right there, just needs a twist. What’s holding me up? I just read something from Tasting The […]
Thanksgiving Wines Came Early To My Home
[PHOTO: Purchased] Company samples are listed with each wine. PREFACE HEART ~ THE WINERY: This information came from the wineries’ notes. SCIENCE ~ WINEMAKING ~ From the winery. SOUL ~ Jo’s Musings The early bird arrived with all of these samples. Each one holds an important special memory, a unique time and place, flavors of wine […]
The Chilling Howl That Ran Right Under My Window
Photo copyright: aliensprog / 123RF Stock Photo Years ago, I worked for Ironstone Vineyards. The following story is one of my favorite memories, while working in the Sierra Mountain region. It all happened in Calaveras County. It began with a two and a half year gig I intuitively knew going into it that it would […]
A Howling Wolf in Murphys
Years ago, I worked for Ironstone Vineyards. The following story is one of my favorite memories, while working in the Sierra Mountain region. It all happened in Calaveras County. It was a two and a half year gig. I intuitively knew going into it that it would only last two years. It managed to squeak […]
Unique tasting event in Lodi of Petite Sirahs + some very revealing info on Petite Sirah
On April 23, Jose and I headed to a unique tasting event in Lodi for Petite Sirah growers. The Petites were all from the 2013 vintage and were unadulterated, unblended, single vineyard Petite Sirahs that have been stored in neutral oak barrels. I brought my electric tooth brush, and needed it. I love Lodi. I […]
The Howling Wolf of Murphys
Slowly and surely it became louder, the energy coming ever closer… howling at the moon, screaming at the tar beneath the pads of its feet, digging in with its claws to get better traction, coming ever closer. I was frozen… just frozen
Fermentation 101, the easiest way to get people to understand it
Why I’d Like to Be Reborn as a Yeast on a Chardonnay Grape is how I explained Fermentation 101. My stint at Robert Mondavi Winery as a wine educator was one of the quickest jobs I’ve ever had, while it was also the most intriguing… Within five months I got a break as a Director […]
How do you feel about children in tasting rooms?
When I worked at Robert Mondavi Winery, I loved all aspects of being there, with one exception. I had a really hard time with the repetition of Wine 101 three to four times a day. I reached the point of feeling like I was channeling Lily Tomlin, doing her Broadway hit of “Searching for Sings […]
Howling Wolf in the Sierras and lightweight in a saloon ~ What? No wine!
Years ago, I worked for Ironstone Vineyards. It was a two and a half year gig, and I intuitively knew going into it that it would only last two years. It managed to squeak out to two and a half years, with the last six months really squeaking along… except for that howling night. I’d […]
An Interview with Zemanta, a resource my blog can’t live without…
I recently received the following Email. Dear Jo, On Z-Blog we regularly feature Zemanta power users. Hence, I’d like to ask you whether I can send you a few interview questions to introduce you on our Z-BLOG? Let me know. Thank you and have a nice week, Nenad I thought, sure, why not… let’s see […]
