Author Archive for Frank Mangio
A French wine outpost in California’s Napa Valley
I pay attention to an email from Jim Barrasso, the energetic owner of Firefly Grill and Wine Bar in Encinitas. Barrasso has a keen sense of wine bargains and occasionally will share this good fortune with his customers.
Discovering wines on the boot
The results are in on the 2013 Italian harvest and for those that enjoy a good Barolo, Chianti Classico, Primativo or Nero D’ Avola and hundreds of other Italian varietals, the news is good.
Sirocco – a touch of Italy in the California Desert
I do my diligence with attention and care when it comes to considering a restaurant and its dinner and wine list. Does it live up to its story by delivering the goods, like listing all the ingredients for each menu item and describing the wine in detail with vintage, district and taste?
Sirocco – Italy in the Desert
I do my diligence with attention and care when it comes to considering a restaurant and its dinner and wine list.
In the Company of Miljenko Grgich
It is a well-known occasion among knowledgeable wine consumers that the beginning of the California wine revolution began with an extraordinary blind wine tasting of French and California wines in Paris in 1976, known as the Paris Tasting.
Paso Robles levels the playing field for California Cabernet
It’s been a well-deserved 50 some years of Napa Valley excellence in growing and producing California’s finest, Cabernet Sauvignon.
California wines on the road less traveled
Between the California coastal city of Lompoc and the town of Buellton, just west of the 101, lies 30,700 square acres of the Sta. Rita Hills.
In the alphabet soup of wines J gets an A
In the wine tasting world, if you have a wine that starts with the letter A, you have a distinct advantage. Tasters have a “clean” palate and are starting fresh.
Top wine destinations named
A leading wine publication, Wine Enthusiast, has revealed its Top 10 Wine Travel Destinations for this year, and many are real eye-openers.
Blended Wines: A winemaker’s creation
Since the beginning of my wine writing journey, I have been fascinated with the increasing number of wine blends released by creative winemakers.
