Do you know how hard it is for me not to bust out with a lot of corny seafaring jargon for this story about the new Judd’s Hill winery pirate-themed Internet show? Hard.
But because I am a trained professional I will restrain myself from avasting, shiver-me-timbering, and the like, and inform you calmly and collectedly that Read more »
So now we know who the mystery buyers of the Robert Mondavi mansion are _ Jean-Charles Boisset, president of the French company Boisset Family Estates, which owns several California wineries, and his wife, Gina Gallo, granddaughter of California wine pioneer Julio Gallo. Call me sentimental but I like the idea of all that dynastic...
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Remember that two-bedroom steal I told you about in the Napa Valley? That’s right, the former home of the late wine pioneer Robert Mondavi and his wife, Margrit, that was going for nearly half off? Well, if you had your eye on it, you’re too late, buster. Someone has snapped that puppy up. Unfortunately,...
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Psst, looking for a hot deal in Napa real estate? I’ve got a good one for you, half off. OK, the minimum bid is $13.9 million. But, still. The property in question is the mountain top retreat of the late wine pioneer Robert Mondavi and his wife, Margrit. The original asking price was $25...
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Looking for something a little different? Raymond Vineyards fits the bill and then some. Interested in organic and biodynamic farming? They’ve got that. Want to meet a weed-eating sheep named Woolly Wonka? Check. Meanwhile, if you want to indulge your inner hedonist there’s the Crystal Cellar, which has the usual tanks, etc., you’d find...
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Francis Ford Coppola has worked for years to restore the good name of the Napa Valley’s Inglenook winery. This week he made it literal with the announcement that he had acquired the Inglenook trademark. The director _ although these days he may be known as much for wine as for movies _ also...
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Sure, there are a lot of great vistas in Northern California wine country. But if you had to pick just one place that would be Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga. You know you’re someplace different when you step into the aerial tram that whisks you up a steep hillside to the winery, a white, monastic-style...
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Is your name Raymond? The folks at Raymond Vineyards want to hear from you. In what has to be one of the more charming campaigns I’ve come across recently, the winery is interested in hearing from people with the first, last or middle name of Raymond for its I Am Raymond Club. Membership is free...
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I’ve always enjoyed shopping at that fabulous French boutique, T’arjet. Everything from socks to soap to sockets in one fell swoop. But even I was surprised the other day to pop in for a few household staples and find myself confronted with a wine aisle. Aisle, mind you. Ladies and gentleman, I think this wine...
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Harvest is getting its groove on in the Napa Valley. The sparkling wine houses _ who want grapes with a little less sugar than those used for still wines _ have been picking for a few weeks. And I recently had the chance to experience one of the harbingers of harvest, the annual Blessing of the...
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