Clinton Stark
Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear
Hangtime Pinot Noir, Carneros 2006 review and a look at Michael Mondavi’s Folio Wine
Founded in 2004 by Michael Mondavi, Folio Fine Wine Partners of Napa is part agency, part importer and part winery. At last count, they represent over 30 different brands, including this 2006 Hangtime Pinot from Carneros. The casual tasting room, or as they call it the "Folio Winemakers' Studio",...
Week in review: Clam bake, cocktail heaven and Tenuta barrel tasting
Okay things are really heating up! Guest blogs posts continue to come in, and not only are they entertaining and informative, but also well written with superb pictures. Nice job everyone.
You can submit a post to this site using email. Just send it to blog@starkinsider.com. The topic can be...
2008 California grape production numbers released, yield down 6 percent
I've been hearing all about a reduced yield in the 2008 growing season for California vineyards for quite some time now. Up in Napa we heard it many times, and also in places like Livermore. The refrain was typical: excellent year, smaller quantity.
The officially released numbers appear to substantiate...
Cline Zinfandel, Sonoma 2007
After Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, our feisty new world grape, Zinfandel, is the third most planted red grape in California. It has a polarizing personality. Some people love it's bold, fruit forward, zingy character, while others find it all a bit much. Me? I'm a fan. Especially since it...
New Kindle improved, but solving wrong problem?
I've been following the new Kindle announcement by Amazon with skeptical interest. The device, a digital reader for 'e-books', has met with some moderate success, and is often sold-out on the Amazon Web site. The new version is slimmer, better and cheaper — all par for the course in...
Tenuta Vineyards – Behind the scenes and barrel tasting
https://vimeo.com/3155853
The third largest winery in Livermore, California producing approximately 25,000 cases, Tenuta Vineyards is a unique place. Perched on a hill overlooking the rolling hills of Livermore, not only does it produce wine under its own Tenuta label, but offers a custom crush facility.
Do you have a strong desire...
La Rochelle Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands 2006 $40 (91 pts.)
Beautiful aroma, nice complexity.
Week in review, survival of the fittest edition: Whales feed while I repair my calf
Another action packed week here at SSC. It seems like every 10 minutes something new comes our way: an email, a guest blog, a comment, a tweet.
The other day, Loni and I were at the gym. Loni was pretending to work "hard" on the elliptical while I was trying...
Chateau des Cleons Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, France 2007 $5.99 (79 pts.)
79 Chateau des Cleons Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Loire Valley 2007. A discount wine from Trader Joe's that tastes every bit the part. Unbalanced, abundance of minerals leaves sour dry finish. $5.99 (Trader Joe's) — C.S.
Turnbull Cellars’ Peter Heitz discusses wine with Loni on ‘WineTales’
Have you ever wondered what it's like to taste wine from over 100 barrels per day?! Are you curious to know the #1 influencer of a great wine? We were fortunate to have Peter Heitz, a 4th generation vintner and winemaker, from the storied Turnbull Cellars join our latest 'WineTales'...
