EXPLORE THE WINE BLOG

Wine is a fascinating subject that often draws attention. Some love it; some don't care about it; I live it as a centerpiece of my life. Wine and spirits it have been an essential part of my life for 50 years. So follow my journey, and we will share our vinous exploration.

A six-pack of delicious Sauvignon Blancs
Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong

A six-pack of delicious Sauvignon Blancs

Our good friends Dave and Fran Copland will be vacationing in Tuscany, and probably other places in Italy. (My darling Alice and Fran worked together a long time ago) and we have remained close. Like many food and wine international travelers, they were drawn to this beautiful and outstanding wine-growing region. Through my five decades in the wine industry, I have been to Italy numerous times, and aside from Rome, Milan, and the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany has always been a treat for me. Here are six Tuscan Treats recently released in the United States, that I found beautiful and compelling.

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Six Tuscan Treats
Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong

Six Tuscan Treats

Our good friends Dave and Fran Copland will be vacationing in Tuscany, and probably other places in Italy. (My darling Alice and Fran worked together a long time ago) and we have remained close. Like many food and wine international travelers, they were drawn to this beautiful and outstanding wine-growing region. Through my five decades in the wine industry, I have been to Italy numerous times, and aside from Rome, Milan, and the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany has always been a treat for me. Here are six Tuscan Treats recently released in the United States, that I found beautiful and compelling.

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Six Exciting New Releases from the Tyler Winery
Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong

Six Exciting New Releases from the Tyler Winery

Justin Tyler Willet founded the Tyler Winery in 2005 at the age of 24. I never heard of the winery until I joined Wine.com in 2014. My friend and colleague, Jonathan Han, had put the wines in front of me knowing that I would become, and I became an instant fan. Each year, I look forward to tasting these delicious Sta. Rita Hills wines. These are not prefab, cookie-cutter wines; they are authentic representatives from this AVA. I tasted these six wines at the Chambers & Chambers 50th Anniversary Tasting at the Terra Gallery in San Francisco.

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My love affair with Geyserville

My love affair with Geyserville

In the summer of 1975, I wandered into the Union Street Wine & Cheese Center and stumbled onto a flight of 1972 Ridge Vineyards wines. My friend Elaine McIntosh was pouring behind the counter, and that was behind the tasting bar, and that is how I discovered the Ridge Geyserville Zinfandels—later to be reclassified as a red table wine giving the winery more flexibility with its percentage of Zin in the blend. A year later, I contacted the winery and sold the 1973s at our family store, Ashbury Market, and my nearly five-decade love affair continues to grow.

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New Releases - Dry Creek Vineyard
Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong

New Releases - Dry Creek Vineyard

I was in my early 20s when I tasted my first Dry Creek Vineyard wines. Two wines remain memorable to this day. The 1972 Dry Creek Vineyard Fumé Blanc and the 1973 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. The former was distinctive, earthy, and reminded me of Bordeaux Blanc and the latter was bright with berries and finely balanced. That was just the beginning. Now five decades later, I can report the winery’s wines continue to be excellent in the face of a more competitive marketplace.

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Pauillac 2020, Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux San Francisco
Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong

Pauillac 2020, Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux San Francisco

Ever since my first travel to Bordeaux, the region, the history, the wines, and the people have stayed in a special place in my wine journeys. As a young professional, I always dreamed of visiting Bordeaux, and in 1996 it came to pass. When I first experienced Bordeaux wines in the early 1970s, I knew that my education would be incomplete without tasting the wines and talking with the vintners on their own turf.

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Discovering and re-discovering the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong

Discovering and re-discovering the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA

The Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains website states, “More than 70 wineries and 200 growers produce wines shaped by the elevation and the ocean’s cooling influence. The region yields elegant wines from small producers specializing in pinot noir, chardonnay, and cabernet sauvignon.” I attended Mountain Wine: Rare trade-tasting with Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers on October 19th and enjoyed an excellent and up-close look at what this AVA is bringing to market.

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Bringing the Russian River Valley to my old nearby San Francisco neighborhood- Porter Creek Vineyards
Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong Wine Tasting Wilfred Wong

Bringing the Russian River Valley to my old nearby San Francisco neighborhood- Porter Creek Vineyards

One of the advantages of being in the wine trade is the opportunity to attend vendor and supplier tastings. I recently tasted Porter Creek Vineyards wines at the Cole Valley Tavern, less than six blocks from where I grew up. Tasted eight high-quality well-made wines and opened up another window into what is happening in the Russian River Valley

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