Rhône Rangers

October 6, 2023 1

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Lavender and Rosé

If anyone were to ask me to describe summer in Provence, the two things that come to mind first are lavender and rosé; I cannot imagine the area without either. But, in an unusual twist, today’s rosé comes from the Lodi Mokelumne River region of California — Acquiesce Winery’s 2022 Grenache Rosé. To accompany this wine, I created... [...]

November 5, 2022 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Timeless

In early December last year, Susan, Towny, Mark, and I descended upon Sue and Rodney Tipton at their winery, Acquiesce, located in Acampo, California, in the Lodi wine region. Sue and Rodney are the consummate hosts — they fed us, entertained us, and set up one of the most incredible days of wine tastings that I have ever... [...]

March 5, 2022 2

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Gruntled with Grenache

Pleased. Satisfied. Contented. Those are quotidian words describing one of my favorite not-so-quotidian words: gruntled. And I was fully gruntled with this 2017 Grenache from Kitá Winery in Lompoc, California. Sadly, I am disgruntled to have learned recently that this winery is closing.

They are the makers of the one and only Sauvignon Blanc that I have actually liked. No, not liked — loved! Their Chardonnay is truly excellent. I think Kitá vintner Tara Gomez is brilliant, as are her wines. And this Grenache is no exception. The good news is that I was able to find quite a few bottles of this wine still available... [...]

January 1, 2022 3

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
He Said, She Said

There are two sides to every story, and today’s wine-and-food pairing is no different. Except that it is very different. As I begin the eighth year of writing this column, this month is the first time in which the vintner, the editor for Provence WineZine, and I have all been in the same room for the tasting and pairing. And let it be... [...]

October 2, 2021 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
A Grape by Any Other Name

Actually, a grape by many other names!

Vermentino is a light-colored grape that has been determined to have its literal roots in Liguria, on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the northwest of Italy. Wines produced from Vermentino are most often found in this same region of Italy (also in... [...]

January 3, 2021 4

Two Female Winemakers Light Up Our New Year with Their Rhône-Varietal Sparkling Wines

Does drinking good bubbly on New Year’s Day foretell a good year? I tend to think so; but to be sure, we popped open two bottles, two super good bottles of sparkling wine exquisitely crafted by female winemakers in California.

One winemaker is in the Santa Ynez Valley, near Santa Barbara in the Central Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA), and the other is in the northern part of the Central Valley, due east of San Francisco Bay in the Lodi AVA. Both are outstanding winemakers... [...]

October 30, 2020 1

Cook, Drink & Learn: A Special Event

Escape the COVID doldrums with "Cook, Drink and Learn with Acquiesce," our inaugural (virtual) food and wine tasting on Sunday, November 15th at 2:00 p.m. PST/5:00 p.m. EST.

Please join Susan Tipton, Winemaker and Co-Owner of Acquiesce Winery, David Scott Allen, Editor of Cocoa & Lavender and wine and food writer for Provence WineZine, and me for an hour of food and wine fun (and a few facts!).

Beginning with a cook-along with David, we will make Mini Croques... [...]

March 8, 2020 15

KITÁ WINES: FOR NATIVE AMERICAN WINEMAKER TARA GOMEZ, DREAMS DO COME TRUE

By the time Tara Gomez graduated from high school in 1991, she knew she wanted to be a winemaker. In many ways, she had been preparing for that role her whole life. But, she probably never imagined she would be making wine for her tribe, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in the American Viticultural Area (AVA) of Santa Barbara, California, or that she would also co-own a nearby winery, Camins 2 Dreams, with her wife Mireia Taribó, a winemaker, that specializes in natural wines. Dreams do... [...]

March 7, 2020 6

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Quelle Surprise!

This post is going to be full of surprises! The first surprise is that the wine is not from Provence. It’s not from France. In fact, it’s not even from Europe. It is a wine made in the Santa Ynez Valley in California by Tara Gomez, the winemaker at Kitá winery. Tara is a member of the Santa Ynez... [...]

July 8, 2018 0

Acquiesce Winery’s Sparkling Grenache Blanc to Debut on Friday, July 13

Grenache Blanc is widely grown in both Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône. If you are lucky enough to be familiar with Acquiesce Winery in Lodi, California, you know that they have a vine or two of this grape variety. It was a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine – typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Picpoul Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Picardan, and Bourboulenc... [...]

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