diegolewis.com

After a few days of wine tastings, everything starts to taste the same.  When that happens, stop in at the Russian River Brewing Company.  A Pliny the Elder Double IPA will fix you right up.  The Damnation Belgian style golden Ale was also tasty.  I’ve got a small bottle of Temptation in the fridge to try.  I have high hopes.  By the oz. it is the most expensive beer I’ve ever purchased. What i really loved was that they had all the available beers on a big chalk board and in the bottom right someone wrote, “Coming Soon: Procrastination”  With a name like that I feel like I should have been consulted.  Maybe they just have gotten around to calling me.

I spent some time in northern California last week. When I wasn’t doing the family vaca’ thing, I was tasting wine. Pinot Noir is not my grape. It’s too light for a red (color and taste). Most wineries soak it with something like Petite Syrah to die it from pink/brown to purple and use some other grapes to make it taste bolder. The end product is a muddled mess. The guys at Robledo Family Winery know what they are doing. Sure, they beefed it up a little but it’s still a pinot. It’s got a nice delicate feel with a smokey, earthy tobacco flavor.