J Vineyards sports an ambitiously schizophrenic line-up of fine beverages ranging from elegant bubbles to complex table wine to the delectable pear liqueur. The space-age green bottles are as inspired as the liquid refreshments that they contain, and upon entering the equally space-age tasting room at the winery in Sonoma County’s Healdsburg, it is clear that these people mean business. Continue Reading »

I’ve finally had a chance to sift through the rubble of our recent West Coast tour, and am pumped to write about my experience at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen in the Sonoma County hamlet of Healdsburg. We were meeting The HoseMaster of Wine for a fireside chat about wine, the roaring 90’s, and where he gets all the nudie pictures for his blog.

There was a lot to like at Dry Creek Kitchen, but the wine list is what really blew me away. For starters, it had an identity in that is nearly all Sonoma based. (I say nearly all because I recall a Port on the list). Palmer is an outspoken advocate of using local products in his cooking, so the old saying of “If it grows together, it goes together” applies when it comes to pairing. Continue Reading »

Wine Mutineer, Alan Kropf will be present at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Sonoma happening Oct. 24-26. Co-organized by Open Wine Consortium, this event is going to be pretty awesome, bringing bloggers from all over together in the name of blogging. Continue Reading »

It is official, Mutineer Magazine is hitting the road! The adventure, dubbed “Mutineer on Tour”, will hit up wineries in Washington, Oregon, and California, in addition to some distilleries, breweries, bars, and probably a local jail or two. There will be an additional blog detailing the misadventures of our magazine on tour, and this blog will be accessible through the main Mutineer Magazine Blog. Continue Reading »