Lodi

OENOPHILE | By Denman Moody – Much has transpired since I visited and wrote an article about Lodi and its wines in 2010. For one thing, my favorite Lodi winery, Michael David, sold its 7 Deadly Zins and a couple other lines to focus on its more upscale wines. In a way, this resembles Sutter Home...

Great Red Wine Values

YOENOPHILE | By Denman Moody – In the last three months of 2019, I tasted about 200 red wines looking for great values in all price ranges. Most of the wines were good to very good, and I’m sharing my favorites just in time for Valentine’s Day. All were tasted with the proper glassware. Pinot Noir...

Fall Creek Vineyards

YOENOPHILE | By Denman Moody –  Skipping over the slow-moving history of post-prohibition winemaking in Texas, the shining stars are Susan and Ed Auler of Fall Creek Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country. These two have seen the results of years of passionate and dedicated work – traveling across the...

Cuvaison A Napa Valley Icon Embraces its Next Fifty Years

YOENOPHILE | By Denman Moody – In 2016, Robert Mondavi became the first post-Prohibition Napa Valley winery to celebrate its golden 50th anniversary. In the few years since, a handful of other famed wineries have joined the “golden” club, among them such icons as Trefethen, ZD Wines and Chappellet....

Chateau Margaux and the 1855 Red Bordeaux Classification

By Denman Moody – This month, I digress from the great American wine estates. For a historical understanding of red Bordeaux wines, one must be familiar with the 1855 Classification, almost all being from the Médoc, or left bank, which is where most of all the great Bordeaux reds were produced at that...

Walla Walla Valley

The Most Exciting, Little-Known Viticulture Area in the U.S. On the 45-minute flight from Seattle to Walla Walla in far southeastern Washington, the incredible forest-filled mountains off to the left slowly merge into the recently harvested, expansive wheat fields to the Walla Walla area. Almost totally...

Duckhorn Portfolio: The Best of the Best

Oenophile | By Denman Moody – In 1976, Margaret and Dan Duckhorn, along with a few investors, started Duckhorn Vineyards, with the first production in 1978 being 800 cases of Merlot and 800 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the years until 2007, they not only vastly improved the quality and quantity of...

World-Class American Wineries: Jordan Winery

By Denman Moody- While I was travel aide to Lloyd Bentsen in 1970 – and later his executive assistant in Washington – Tom Jordan, who is just a smidgen older than I, was already a mega-successful oil man in Denver with the idea of purchasing a great Bordeaux chateau.  A taste of the 1968 Beaulieu...

Eleven Great Wineries

Oenophile | By Denman Moody – For 2019, I plan to highlight eleven great wineries and their best wines.  Consumers these days appear to be more interested in the story about the people who make the wines and the availability and price of wines of great value – in different price ranges – more than...