Victor Palencia is one of the youngest winemakers established on the Washington wine scene. Born in Mexico, he immigrated to the US with his family when he was two years old. His parents started working in the vineyards as manual laborers, and Victor grew …
Amanda Barnes
Amanda Barnes
Amanda Barnes has been writing about wine and travel since 2003. South America has been her home since 2009, but she is currently on a mission to unlock the world of wine by traveling Around the World in 80 Harvests!
Consultant winemaker Co Dinn tells us about the geology of Washington’s wine region and how it affects the wine being made. From the top of a vineyard in Yakima’s Snipes Mountain, Co explains the main soil types and different slopes and aspects. Amanda Barnes …
As one of the first families to plant vineyards in the Eolo-Amity Hills, the Casteels of Bethel Heights winery are considered leaders in this AVA within Willamette Valley. Winemaker and second-generation family owner, Ben Casteel, talks about the unique terroir and climate of the …
Everyone in Oregon likes to talk about dirt. And that isn’t just trendy wine talk (although there’s plenty of that too!) Oregonians actually care about dirt. That attitude is part of the Willamette Valley terroir. The state is renowned for its outdoorsy lifestyle and that …
Californian winemakers and producers seem pleased with the 2016 harvest, which seems to be one of the more laid back vintages in recent years – especially following the difficult harvest of 2015. Drought was still an issue, but milder temperatures eased some of the …
The 2016 vintage in Oregon’s Willamette Valley was one of the earliest on record, with the pick getting started in August. How did the early harvest affect the wine styles this year? And how is the renowned Willamette Pinot Noir shaping up this vintage? …
The US wine region of Washington experienced an early harvest in 2016 which gave Walla Walla, Red Mountain and Yakima AVAs (among others) a long growing season. We interview consultant winemaker and agronomist Co Dinn on how this year’s harvest was and how the …
This year’s harvest in the Fingerlakes, New York, was not your average vintage. Hot weather and a drought meant that Riesling was actually one of the harder varieties to produce in this cool climate region, and reds experienced a good vintage. We interviewed Master …
Baja California in Mexico had one of their most unusual vintages of recent years with a torrential downpour as the usually arid wine valley got hit by the tail end of a hurricane. Heavy rainfall put an early stop to the season, which was …
Mendoza’s Uco Valley is hogging the limelight in South America and with good reason. It still often gets described as the ‘up and coming’ region of Argentina, but make no mistake – it has firmly arrived. And the Uco Valley is here to stay…. …