Wine ~ I've been drinking it

Wine is not something I have talked about a lot in a Ripple, but I have been an avid wine drinker for years. I have had several excellent wine experiences recently and I wanted to share. Wine is an integral part of my food enjoyment experiences and I was happy to try some great new wines.

My wife and I recently took a trip to Washington state and toured several AVAs. We visited Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, and Walla Walla. Some of the best wine tasting rooms we tried were L’Ecole, Kiona Vineyards, Col Solare, Barnyard Griffin, and Anelare. There are a lot of great Rhone style wines, including GSM blends, coming out of this area and we enjoyed them throroughly. We also had great meals on our trip. Anelare had excellent pizzas to go with their wines, a delicious steak dinner at Budd’s Broiler, and a lovely French dinner at Brasserie Four.

Ridge Vineyards

is second to none. This is the only wine membership that we are currently a part of. They make excellent single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from California. Their Monte Bello is a classic and one of my favorite wines of all time. They also make great Zinfandels, amazing whites, though mostly Chardonnay, and other red blends, including GSM blends. Our most recently shipment has been wonderful. Earlier this year we took a trip to Santa Barbara and enjoyed a full weekend of food and wine that Ridge hosted. Drinking 20 plus year old Monte Bello and Chardonnay was wonderful.

The holidays have also brought may different kinds of fun wines to go along with celebrations. Lots of sparkling wines, Rosé, and fun but drinkable reds. I recently had a great Amarone and Pinot Noir which made excellent pairings with holiday meals. I am looking forward to continued exploration of wines in 2026.