The question we always face with Napa Zinfandel is what role it should play in the Zin universe. The neighborhood makes most of these wines ambitious in scope. But even in a Napa context, Zinfandel should take a...

For a guy barely pushing 34, Tegan Passalacqua has a lot of history with Napa's vineyards. A visit to Coombsville, just east of the city of Napa, is a trip through his upbringing. He'll point out that a vacant field...

What: Step into the Marriott at Trancas Street/Redwood Road in Napa and into the new VIN-eleven restaurant and courtyard lounge, and you'll find a stylish oasis buzzing with hipsters gathering for evening drinks and a...

Some winemakers get a little recognition, and suddenly, they think they're rock stars. Then there is Les Claypool, owner of and winemaker at Claypool Cellars in Sebastopol. He's been in the spotlight a bit since opening...

Most vintages give you a story line. It was good. It was bad. A year for nerds. A year for pleasure. For months, the story of Germany in 2010 has left me dumbstruck. The wines can be electrifying one moment, wan the...

On the label While 2010 confounded many of these designations, here's a quick primer on German terms that describe a wine's style: QbA: Usually an estate's basic wine, which can describe a good everyday bottle and...

As a wine region, the Central Coast covers about 250 miles along California's coast and encompasses several appellations, from the Santa Cruz Mountains at the north end to the Santa Ynez Valley at the south. With such a...

It's been a busy January. The dry weather has let vineyard managers get ahead on their work - while praying for rain. But there's also a surprising amount of energy in the wine world right now, a desire to get back on...

Kendall-Jackson doesn't want to be your grandmother's Chardonnay. Instead of going the traditional route of promoting their wines, they've taken a millennial approach: the Internet, YouTube, social networking. And now,...

The lamb chops were cooked to perfection. Fine wines flowed. Then came the piece de resistance - a 1997 Chateau Petrus Pomerol that can fetch about $2,000 a bottle. Wine consultant Frankie Zhao was dining with a group...