chardonnay – THE GRAPE BELT

Vive la France!

One of the beautiful things about wine is that it is an infinite subject. You can never learn it all. And, if you could, as soon as you did, there would be more to learn. Wine will always be too big for us to get our arms and heads around. But that doesn’t stop a […]

by Tom Riley

The Arrogant Frog — Worth A Kiss

A few years ago I introduced readers of The Grape Belt to the wines of Domaine Paul Mas from the Languedoc region in southern France, extolling their impressive combination of quality and low prices. (https://thegrapebelt.com/2016/07/20/head-to-the-south-of-france/) Well, we’re back again with a look at a few more of their wines, this time under the whimsical label, The […]

by Tom Riley

Can I Get You Some Wine?

While the weather in many parts of the country is beyond horrible right now, in not too many weeks we will be staring summer square in the face. We’ll start spending more time on the patio, in the backyard, at the beach, or around the pool. And we’re going to want something to drink. So, […]

by Tom Riley

Chasing The Ghost Of Rosalia Vintners

Following several days in the Veneto, immersed in the delicious and impressive wines of Soave, I made a short trip that had been years in the planning. Well, if not planning certainly in the imagining. I had heard the words Udine and Friuli so many times since I was a boy that these places had […]

by Tom Riley

Artesa: Good Things Are Happening In Carneros

We are all born with peculiar gifts, those little tics and quirks that make us who we are in that oh so special way. One of mine is being able to notice when an object in a room is not plumb, level, or square to other things nearby or the room itself. I could find […]

by Tom Riley

2013 Jordan Chardonnay

Maybe you’re a big fan of chardonnay. And maybe you’ve heard friends who are a bit ahead of you in the wine game talking about things called Chablis and Burgundy, but you really don’t know much about those wines. What you do know is that wines from those places can often be expensive. Still, you’d […]

by Tom Riley

What Are You Waiting For?

The next time I hear somebody complain that Napa is too commercialized, too touristy, I know what my response is going to be. Two words: Stony Hill. Want to shed some of the creeping cynicism that’s starting to cloud your appreciation of the Napa Valley? A visit to Stony Hill will take you back to a Napa that existed before the […]

by Tom Riley

In The Shade Of Historical Napa

You can’t be familiar with the better producers in the Napa Valley and not know the name Sequoia Grove. But there’s knowing, and then there’s knowing. It wasn’t until recently, when I came across a few bits of Napa Valley history that described the winery’s 19th century roots, that I decided I wanted to know more about Sequoia Grove. To […]

by Tom Riley

We’ve Got People Coming Over — Help!!

In the last few weeks, I’ve had more than one person ask for help with planning their holiday parties. They want to serve wine. They want to serve decent wine, but they don’t want to go broke. Or, they don’t want to serve expensive, high quality wines because they know that at a party very […]

by Tom Riley

Keep Your Glitz — Let’s Talk About The Wine

If you spend too much time in certain corners of the Napa Valley, you start to believe that in order to make great wine you need to have a Great, capital G, winery. One with a tasting room tricked out in stone and steel, glass and marble. Paneled rooms filled with fine collectibles and walls covered […]