While in Dallas in December, I decided to pull friends together for a virtual wine tasting and to expose them to Ian Devereux White and his winery Smith Devereux. I chose three wines from his ..read more

After three and a half days of tasting great wine, having good food and enjoying amazing weather, the day came too quickly to head back to Wisconsin. We checked out of the loft and headed ..read more

We didn’t use a driver for Sunday, we started close to where we stayed, another new winery recommended by Gary. Fortunati Vineyards hosted us for our first tasting. What a lovely couple that owns the ..read more

Every morning while enjoying our coffee and breakfast, we watched the hot air balloons float from Yountville down to Napa. It was the perfect way to start each day. And we were able to enjoy ..read more

When I initially reached out to Gary at Wine Tasting Driver, we discussed trying smaller, family owned wineries on this trip. He provided a list of suggestions that we chose from, unfortunately, we couldn’t get ..read more

What started as a plan for have 6 of us go to Napa Valley, ended in a yes for three of us.  No fault of anyone, some were uncomfortable, but a few of us decided ..read more

I love when I discover a new winery through Instagram and virtual wine tastings. My friend, Gary Thompson, from Wine Tasting Driver featured Ian White from Smith Devereux for a virtual wine tasting direct from the vineyards at the end of July. Prior to the tasting, I did order the tasting pack, unfortunately, UPS was late in delivering the wines, but I was ok with that, the anticipation was worth it. When I ordered the tasting pack I received a personal email from Ian, one of the co-owners. I was so impressed with how engaged Ian is with his customers. He offered food pairing suggestions and t ..read more

This week’s virtual tasting from Tom Hockel at Spring City Wine House was with Gus Gamba of Gamba Vineyards & Winery. I was so excited to see this tasting, Gamba Zinfandel has been a favorite of mine since I discovered it at Storyhill BKC. A fun way to spend a Wednesday night. The Gamba lineup for our tasting Photo credit: Spring City Wine House Facebook page Gus truly has passion for his family’s winery and the wines. He’s the fourth generation running the winery. He was interactive and engaging, although was running through the tasting a little to fast. Gus dry farms, creates organic ..read more

Frank Family Vineyards Photo credit: Frank Family Vineyards Facebook Page Tom Hockel at Spring City Wine House in Waukesha continues with virtual tastings for his customers. I was excited to see one for Frank Family Vineyards. This is one of my go to Cabernet Sauvignons when I see it on a wine list and I’m unsure of other options I order Frank Family. When you sign up, Tom provides you tasting samples in small bottles, 6 pours in total. It’s a great price for a tasting, just $20 for non-club members. Note to self, need to join his wine club. The wine representative from Frank Family Vineyar ..read more

The wines for our tasting: Jessup Cellars Chardonnay, Handwritten “The Author” Sauvignon Blanc, Jessup Cellars Pinot Noir and Handwritten Oak Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon What is the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon in July when you still can’t travel to Napa? You join your wine club’s virtual wine tasting. I was excited when I received the email that my club partnered with Riedel for a virtual tasting via zoom. I invited my friend Randi to join, she brought her husband, Todd and friend, Dawn to join us. The set up–four bottles of wine and two tasting packs from Riedel that contain fou ..read more