Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Bubbles & Blending & Swapping (Oh my!)

Orlando’s holiday wine season continues apace in the coming week, with an abundance of eclectic events sure to delight anyone on your holiday “nice” list.

This weekend, there’s BevFly’s Bubbles Bash on Saturday and the annual Women for Winesense holiday bottle swap on Sunday.

Next week, become a winemaker for an evening at a blending seminar with cabernets from Napa’s Quintessa winery at Tim’s in Windermere on Thursday.

Then on Friday, travel to Italy with K Restaurant’s Friday Night Flights.

There’s something for everyone this week! As always, details are on the Events Calendar, so it’s easy to keep enjoying the festive season.

Judith Smelser Beyond Central Florida, Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers, Wineries

Talk of Terroir in California Wine Country

“I think people make too much fuss over winemakers,” said Christophe Paubert, standing in front of an elegant fireplace at Napa’s Stags’ Leap Winery on a recent fall evening.

Some might find his words counterintuitive, given his vocation. Paubert is Stags’ Leap’s winemaker.

He’s not the only one of his kind who advocated for minimalist techniques during a recent visit to Napa and Sonoma. It was a refreshing refrain in a region where heavy-handedness was once the name of the game.

Continue reading “Talk of Terroir in California Wine Country” →

Judith Smelser Beyond Central Florida, Wine Experiences, Wine News, Wineries

Wine Country faces long recovery, but fire damage largely hidden from tourists’ view

“If you didn’t know,” Patsy McGaughy with Napa Valley Vintners told a group of wine writers last week, “you wouldn’t know.”

She was addressing the tenth annual Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa, a place many called ground zero for last month’s wildfires.

“The valley floor is just as beautiful as ever.”

She’s right.

Continue reading “Wine Country faces long recovery, but fire damage largely hidden from tourists’ view” →

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers

New Orlando Wine Events: Napa winemaker dinner, Italian pairing dinner, and more!

The Upcoming Wine Events page has been updated with lots of new happenings around the region, including:

  • Italian pairing dinner hosted by Jean K. Reilly, Master of Wine
  • Wine dinner with Napa winemaker Julie Lumgair, hosted by Central Florida Women for Winesense
  • Tasting with Sonoma winemaker Ben Papapietro

Don’t miss these great events coming up next week:

  • Fat Tuesday party with high-acid whites at Swirlery
  • Everyday Italian tasting at Tim’s Wine Market Lake Mary
  • Australian wine class and tasting, also at Swirlery

As always, there’s no excuse to go thirsty in the City Beautiful!

Judith Smelser Wineries

A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Stony Hill, Domaine Carneros

About this series: After years of loving (and semi-seriously studying) wine, I finally took my first trip to Napa and Sonoma this summer. It was a wonderful week of sunny days, cool nights, beautiful views, and beautiful wines. These are the impressions, discoveries, favorites, and surprises from my journey.

Part 1: Montelena, CADE, Pride
Part 2: Frog’s Leap, Heitz, Mumm
Part 3: Y. Rousseau, Antica, Failla

Farewell Napa, Sonoma Bound

On Wednesday and Thursday, we said goodbye to Napa with one historic and refreshingly white (wine) Napa experience, followed by an iconic (and bubbly) one.

Continue reading “A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Stony Hill, Domaine Carneros” →

Judith Smelser Wineries

A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Y. Rousseau, Antica, Failla

About this series: After years of loving (and semi-seriously studying) wine, I finally took my first trip to Napa and Sonoma this summer. It was a wonderful week of sunny days, cool nights, beautiful views, and beautiful wines. These are the impressions, discoveries, favorites, and surprises from my journey.
Read Part 1: Chateau Montelena, CADE, Pride
Read Part 2: Frog’s Leap, Heitz, Mumm Napa

Day 4 – Tuesday Aug 2

If Monday focused on well-known wineries in the middle of the action, Tuesday was the opposite. From a tiny boutique outfit tucked away in an office park south of downtown Napa to the little-known Atlas Peak outpost of a storied Italian wine family, this was definitely a day of discovery!

Continue reading “A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Y. Rousseau, Antica, Failla” →

Judith Smelser Wineries

A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Frog’s Leap, Heitz & Mumm

About this series: After years of loving (and semi-seriously studying) wine, I finally took my first trip to Napa and Sonoma this summer. It was a wonderful week of sunny days, cool nights, beautiful views, and beautiful wines. These are the impressions, discoveries, favorites, and surprises from my journey.

Day 3 – Monday, Aug 1

We spent our first two days in Napa at wineries that were a little off the beaten path. I assumed the weekend crowds (which turned out not to be so large after all) would thin out on Monday and that we could safely venture into the heart of the valley, where wineries seem to dot every inch of the roads.

Continue reading “A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Frog’s Leap, Heitz & Mumm” →

Judith Smelser Wineries

A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Part 1

About this series: After years of loving (and semi-seriously studying) wine, I finally took my first trip to Napa and Sonoma this summer. It was a wonderful week of sunny days, cool nights, beautiful views, and beautiful wines. These are the impressions, discoveries, favorites, and surprises from my journey.

Continue reading “A Florida Oenophile in California Wine Country: Part 1” →