Wine Recommendations

Napa Valley Zinfandels are celebrated for their easy drinking allure and bold juicy flavors making this varietal a total crowd pleaser. Zinfandels made in the Napa Valley are iconic, although some may say a little forgotten, however, it’s a flavor profile known for intense black fruits and spice which render Napa Valley Zinfandels as the most epically jammy varietal produced. The Napa Valley’s warm California climate is fundamental to winemaking and Napa Valley Zinfandels are a great example of how winemakers utilize that heat, skillfully harnessing the temperatures to produce some of the most intense wine the Napa Valley has to offer. Zinfandels crafted in the Napa Valley region, especially old vine Zinfandels, have exploding flavors that ripen outrageously giving life to wines that create an exceptional food and wine experience. When you find a way to always have excellent Napa Valley Zinfandel around it’s sure to illuminate any meal because Napa Valley Zinfandel is, more than anything else, a food pairing wine. These Napa Valley wineries with the best Zinfandel are recommendations specifically known for their outstanding, award-winning Zinfandel.

Let's face it, not everybody is enamored with football. But if you're invited to a Super Bowl party, you go. If you don't you're that person sitting at home in the dark, surrounded by stuffed animals, drinking prune juice and watching PBS. If you are a football fan but not the beer guzzling boisterous breed, IntoWine.com’s wine guide will help you not only learn about the game (and potentially forget the game quickly) but will make the endurance challenge of Super Bowl Sunday more palatable. So we offer 10 wines for 10 of football’s most often heard terms, and what to drink when you hear them.

IntoWine's Guide to Christmas Wine Gifts Shopping for holiday gifts is always tricky. Who wants what; does this size fit them; is that gluten free? This year, ditch all that and focus instead on 10 wines that cover all manner of tastes and budget, guaranteed they won’t be returned, but will be shared with others.

Wine tasting in the Napa Valley is an experience that’s more than the exploration of wine, it’s also about ambiance. Good wine can be even better when you’re sipping fireside and nothing sounds cozier than warming up by a fire while tasting delicious Napa Valley vintages.

The Napa Valley’s landscape is renowned for its rolling hillsides and lush valley floor where endless waves of vineyard create glorious stretches of views. The Napa Valley’s terroir gives life to vines that produce famous California wines and this place is where prestigious wineries and estate vineyards make their homes. When you encounter the Napa Valley it is impossible not to be enraptured by the beauty, abundance, and romantic atmosphere this place exudes. Visiting wineries adorned with the best views of Napa’s luscious landscape pairs perfectly with the extraordinary wine produced by them. Napa Valley wineries place an immense value on the sweeping vineyard scenery thus securing it as one of the many Napa Valley luxuries sought out among wine novices and connoisseurs alike.

California has actually been making outstanding wines from the Pinot Noir grape for a long time. Sure, not long in the Burgundian sense but going back at least to the middle of the last century there were good bottles of Pinot Noir being produced in California. Not many to be sure, but there were some. Starting slowly, in the 1990’s, and then exploding when the movie Sideways came out, there are now more and more offerings of good to excellent Pinot Noir being produced in California.

Forty-five dollars is a lot of money to spend on a bottle of wine. Yet, it is also a threshold pricing for wine. For many people, that is the most they are willing to spend on a bottle. For others, that is a typical Tuesday night pizza wine. The real question is what kind of quality you can get for that price. Unfortunately, the best wines often cost more. On the other hand, spending more does not guarantee quality. With that in mind, this article turns its attention to Italy in general and Tuscany in particular.

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. If you’re scouring Sonoma for wineries that could be the perfect setting for your wedding—look no further. We surveyed over 100 wine producers in the area for their insider recommendations, and created a list of the most recommended Sonoma wineries to host a wedding.

Last month I wrote about 11 California winery mailing lists for which to sign up . That got a lot of positive feedback along with some requests for additional winery lists. Everyone really wanted to know what the up and coming wineries are and whose lists may be hard to get on in the future. While there is no telling which way the prevailing winds of taste will go, here are some more suggestions about lists that may just be filling up soon if they haven’t already.

I am often asked which wineries mailing lists I should sign up for. Before I answer that question, let’s back up a bit. What are mailing lists? They are different than wine clubs. A mailing list is an offering from a winery to buy their wines. Many wineries offer their wines to allow a consumer to buy directly from the winery. Typically, the prices are not any lower than one would find at retail and at times, they are even priced a bit higher. For the wineries, it’s a great deal as they can avoid the middleman and capture more profits from the sale of a bottle of wine. But, why would a consumer want to do this?