• About
  • Indiana Wineries
  • Michigan Wineries
  • Wisconsin Wineries

Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: California

Buellton: My First Wine Bloggers Conference

10 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by Howard in California, Wine Education/News/Updates

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Buellton, California, Santa Barbara, WBC14, wine, wine bloggers

BUELLTON, Ca. – You may have never heard of Buellton, California, but odds are you’ve heard of Santa Barbara or perhaps the biggest wine movie ever – Sideways. The movie was about two guys story of friends, search for love, and fascination with Pinot Noir.

Buellton sets about 40 minutes north of Santa Barbara in one of the most underappreciated wine regions of California. I’m here this weekend for the Wine Blogger’s Conference. Nearly 300 wine writers will hear speakers, participate in symposiums and try to absorb massive amounts of the region’s wines.

WBC14_800They pour and pour frequently at these events. No need for a long rundown of the agenda. I’ll be blogging most nights as my chain hotel Wi-Fi permits. This is my first WBC. It has been in Napa, Sonoma, Oregon/Washington, Virginia and more. It just felt like it was time to hear some of these speakers and panels on wine writing and how the very best do it.

My summer of work, wine and personal travel will continue when the conference ends Sunday. I’m going to head up to Paso Robles, about an hour and a half away, and spend a couple nights there and one day exploring Paso’s wine country. I visited in Paso in 2010 and was blown away with the wine quality for price point. I’m also going to scout a bit for a possible future Grape Sense wine tour.

Then Tuesday I’m going to make the long drive up around the bay to Sonoma and Napa. I will be seeing a couple of old friends and do a winery stop two only for my enjoyment! I’ll probably write something about those stops – but this is vacation and fun.

I will be writing, posting to Facebook, and Twitter Friday and Saturday during the conference. Please comment and share!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Two Wonderful Big Red Wines

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by Howard in California, Paso Robles & Mendocino

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

California, Fess Parker winer, Petite Sirah, Rock Wall Wine, Syrah

A Sunday afternoon is a great time for catch-up! That would be catch up on housework, laundry, and a quick look at some recent wines I’ve enjoyed.

rockwallRock Wall 2010 Dry Creek Petite Sirah – This was a big ol’ huge wine like most Petite Sirah but had a smooth mouth feel that many lack.

The wine has powerful blackberry, chocolate, and a nice spicy finish. This would be a great PS wine for anyone who has tried a PS and wasn’t sure they liked it. Oh, this is big wine but it sure does go down smooth.

Rock Wall 2010 Petite Sirah, SRP $35, Trade Sample, Highly Recommended

Fess-Parker-2010-Santa-Barbara-County-SyrahFess Parker 2010 Syrah – It had been awhile since I had enjoyed a Central California Coast 100 percent Syrah. I really had forgotten how good these wines can be when well made.

boone-imageThe Fess Parker Syrah had a rich plum flavor. It had the nice spice you’d expect in a Syrah. It was definitely dry with a finish that will linger. This Syrah needs a good decant and will benefit from getting it in the right glass. But its a great representation of California Syrah.

Oh, for those who don’t know, yes Fess Parker Syrah is from the late actor who portrayed Daniel Boone all those Sunday nights on Disney in the 1960s.

Fess Parker 2010 Syrah, SRP $25, Highly Recommended

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Recent Posts

  • Education in opening a 2014 Burgundy
  • Does size really matter?
  • Stock up on Oregon Pinot?

Grape Sense on Instagram

To Bordeaux and burgundy for this weeks Saturday Sipps at the Wine Shop, 11-4 pm. Taste these great wines and you can buy them Saturday only for 20% off.
Panko, breaded, shrimp and Michigan, Leelanau, peninsula, Shady Lane cellars” Chardonnay. Pretty great small dinner after a night at the Wine Shop. #shadylanecellars

Categories

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 3,644 other subscribers

Photography

Friend Me On …

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

My Summer With Lymphoma: Lymphoma, My Stem Cell Transplant

Good news on cancer and eyes

I have failed miserably at keeping ‘the cancer blog’ updated – and that’s a good thing, I suppose. I have now been “clean” since my April autologous stem cell transplant. I had a PET scan in June and a CT scan this week (Sept. 11) and both showed negative results. My oncologist was very pleased […]

Decisions, Decisions – Job & Health issues

  It’s been two weeks since my last update, one week-plus since I dropped one of my three antibiotics, and 97 days since my stem cell transplant for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.   So there are a few things to update and a few thoughts to share. Let’s start with the cancer. My team of oncologists at […]

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Howard W. Hewitt
    • Join 85 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Howard W. Hewitt
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: