If you are looking for a unique and memorable wine experience in Utah, yes I said Utah, it’s time to check out Spanish Valley Vineyard & Winery in Moab. This family-owned winery specializes in single-vineyard estate-bottled wines, meaning they grow, ferment, and bottle their own grapes on site. The winery is in a scenic valley on the south end of Moab, surrounded by the gorgeous red rocks of Moab Valley to the west and the La Sal Mountains to the east, offering stunning views and a relaxing atmosphere.

If you are a wine lover, you might be wondering what the best vintages are to look for in 2023. Whether you want to enjoy a bottle now or save it for later, knowing the quality and drinkability of different regions and varieties can help you make the best choice. That's why I have compiled this 2023 wine vintage guide, based on the ratings and reviews from Wine Enthusiast magazine.

If you're a wine lover like me, you probably have a collection of fun corkscrews in your kitchen drawer. You know, the ones that look like a twisted metal snake, or a pair of scissors, or a medieval torture device. But have you ever heard of an ah-so wine opener? Until recently I hadn’t either, so let me be the first to introduce you to the tool that will prevent you from ruining a bottle of wine or champagne ever again!

If you are looking for a versatile and delicious red wine, you might want to consider Merlot from Washington State. Known commonly from its mention in the movie “Sideways”, Merlot took a huge dip in sales after the popularized quote was spoken and immediately made Merlot undesirable overnight. Regardless, Merlot is one of the founding grapes in so many delicious red blends that we love and deserves respect as a stand-alone varietal. Washington is one of the best regions in the world for this grape, producing wines that combine ripe fruit, velvety texture, and balanced acidity.

“Do you want sizzle or steak?” Marv Crum asked me when we sat down to taste his reds from the aptly named Red Mountain AVA. A rhetorical question for any wine enthusiast, but for those unfamiliar with the phrase, it essentially means, do you want a high-quality product or simply the “idea” of one, and I am here to tell you, Marv is making the real deal.

Nestled in the southernmost area of Seattle is a lovely getaway where patrons can walk out of cloudy Washington and step onto the shores of Southern France and the Mediterranean. This magical place is “Princess and Bear Wines”, a wine bar that imports wines solely from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, and offers over 150 different labels, spread across 40 L-R domains, making it the only wine bar of its kind in the United States!

Never has a “flightless bird” soared so high above the competition. This was the first thing I felt when tasting Eva Pemper’s 2021 Sauvignon Blanc out of Marlborough, New Zealand. While famous for their flightless bird, the Kiwi, this winemaker from down under is clearly on her way to the top of the market.