From the remarkable Lopez Vineyard in Cucamonga comes an extraordinary wine that may not happen again. Foot trodden, basket-pressed. No skin contact. No SO2. Barrel fermentation ensues in neutral barrique.... read more →
Donkey & Goat is grown in California and made in Oakland. The 2022s are worth your while, but this one stands out as one of my top picks from Tracey's... read more →
Some of the Donkey and Goat 2022s are really standouts. Like this fashionably cloudy wine that might cure your pet’nat fatigue. With edgey Mendocino fruit, it has a rosy, cherry-like... read more →
I visited Raj Parr’s magical spot in San Luis Obispo in December. This is an isolated plot of land where the fruit is slow to ripen and the vines are... read more →
Jason Charles’ wines are solid and delicious. In a season when one looks for interesting rosés this bottle should definitely be on your radar. The fruit comes from cool Mendocino,... read more →
Hank Beckmeyer of La Clarine Farms is very secretive about both the grapes in this wine and his processes. For now at least wants this line of wines to be... read more →
Up in California’s Sierra Foothills, Hank Beckmeyer has made magic in the 2020 vintage. Here is another fab wine where he found the equilibrium between the lush grenache and the... read more →
A friend and I drank this in the backyard of his East Village apartment. I could see why he was so enthused. This is a terrific little wine from Los... read more →
Another knockout from Hank Beckmeyer. This foot-stomped number struck me as California red at its best. Beautiful with blushes and smiles. Rose petals and that gentle pomegranate character that I... read more →
These vines in the back of Hank’s house are finally arriving and delivering. Hank picked these in succession. Fourteen passes, he says. Then the grapes were lightly crushed and added... read more →