I can see into the future…
- May 13, 2016
It has been a little while since I last wrote. Which is a bummer, because I have had so many fun wine experiences lately. The problem is that I have just been enjoying them for myself. I went tasting in Napa on several different occasions, and hit up some faves like La Rochelle, Darioush, Honig, […]
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Old, salty wine from Spain
- October 19, 2015
You are in for a treat. This post comes from one of my favorite wine writers. He wrote this just for our enjoyment, so without further ado… Robert Vardanian’s first Weeklygrape article. Today we discuss a very specific and highly fantastic wine called… Williams & Humbert “Jalifa” Amontillado VORS Williams & Humbert is a large […]
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Jura: The Wine World’s Lovable Odd-ball That’s Worth Getting To Know
- October 16, 2015
Chloe’s fourth post here on the Weeklygrape is non other than Jura. A bit off the beaten path, but infused with that Brit style that I find entertaining. Enjoy. As a Sommelier I am often asked by customers and clients about new wine trends and unique regions. As wine is such a vast subject, this […]
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The Tale of the Bloody Knife (autobiographical of course)
- September 4, 2015
The other day some friends and I went up to Lompoc. Now I know what you’re thinking… Lompoc?, but they only have a prison and a military base. I went there for neither. I went for the relatively new phenomena, the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. As bizarre as it may seem, a group of wineries opened […]
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A tale of “Stump the Somm” with jammy juice and secret sideline Zin
- August 19, 2015
Greetings and salutations. I am very proud to be posting Chloe’s third wine bloggy (she loves shortening words and adding a ‘y’ at the end. For example, if she is in a playful mood instead of Chablis she will say Shabby Shabs). For those of you just joining us on this wine journey, Chloe Dickson […]
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British Bubbly: Champagne’s Newest Rival!
- August 2, 2015
Chloe’s second article is about England’s bubbles! Brilliant! On a recent visit back to the homeland I was pleasantly surprised to see the sheer amount of English Sparkling Wine available at shops and supermarkets. I’ve only been living outside of the UK for a year and a half, but in this short timeframe a wonderful […]
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A Very Sherry Comeback That’s Making Grandma Proud
- June 30, 2015
Hello, my fabulous readers. It is I, Jonathan Hood, and I would like to introduce you to your new favorite wine writer. Her name is Chloe Dickson and she is British. Now I know what you’re saying to yourself subvocally as you read this… British!?! Is she going to have a funny accent in her […]
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What do Danny DeVito, Steve Martin, and Kyle Maclachlan have in common?
- February 18, 2015
What do Danny DeVito, Steve Martin, and Kyle Maclachlan have in common? Besides being really down to earth, easy going individuals, I’ve helped them all pick out wine recently. It’s fun having a surprise guest that you’ve admired for years randomly show up and interact with you. Kyle Maclachlan of Twin Peaks fame has his […]
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0% fruit juice and somewhat off kilter
- February 9, 2015
I asked a good friend of mine to write something to share. He writes for Vice magazine, LA Weekly, and Buzz Feed among others. So without further ado… a little tidbit from Peter Holslin: I grabbed a bagel and a loaf of wheat bread and began my pilgrimage to the golden statue of Zeus. After […]
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Santa Barbara County wine trip (part 2)… and then I found two dollars on the ground
- January 20, 2015
It was a day like any other. The sun came up as usual. The Earth was spinning near the equator at 465 meters per second like it does as it’s whipped around the galaxy. Americans drank another 400 million cups of coffee as they do every day. I woke up as I do most days, […]
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Paragliding, lasers, aliens, and the Santa Barbara County wineries
- December 15, 2014
I went paragliding between skyscrapers yesterday. It was late bordering on early. A few of us broke into the Arco tower in Downtown LA. That was a chore in and of itself, with two guys on security lookout, one relooping footage, one attending the locks, and the last of us sporting the gear. We reached […]
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Hunting albatross with spider monkeys
- December 1, 2014
Disclaimer: there is only a little bit about wine in this one I was driving on the freeway today, as I do every day. Heh, that reminded of Pinky & the Brain… “What are we going to do tonight Brain? Same thing we do every night… try to take over the world!!!” So, I was […]
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Peanut butter, pizza, Tapatio, and a tortilla…
- November 2, 2014
I’ve been asked how I choose what I write about, and my response is usually that I write about freedom, justice, life, and three legged pigeons… okaaaay, maybe not so much the first three. I have a hard time grasping the fact that anywhere up to a million people read what I write. I see […]
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An unexpected turn of events with a little wine tasting on the side
- October 27, 2014
Life has been odd lately. I think I’m heading in one direction and then the earth heaves beneath my feet tossing me in another direction altogether. I thought for a short while that wine would be pushed to the back seat for the time being, and then out of the blue plans changed. I moved from […]
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The awkward stage
- September 2, 2014
Aging wine is a tricky practice. How many times have you been so enthralled with a wine when you went wine tasting that you bought a whole case, or maybe you just purchased a few bottles because the price ticket was exorbitant? This is kind of like when I tasted the 2003 Lazzarito vineyard […]
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A certain level of wrongness
- July 22, 2014
I overheard a woman last night talk about which kind of wines she liked. She said, “I like French wine, Spanish wine, Australian, Italian… pretty much anything but what we have here. I like my wine to be spicy or smooth.” My first thought was please ‘don’t put Australia in the same category with […]
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