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Please The Palate October 2025 Newsletter

Summer is here and with it comes the 14th anniversary of Please The Palate. I am proud to be celebrating another year of business, especially...

07 October, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Alma Rosa 2021 Attente Red, Sta. Rita Hills

On a visit to Alma Rosa Winery in the Santa Ynez Valley, I was looking at a rack of wine bottles, recognizing the dark blue...

01 October, 2025

Foraging and Cooking at Fattoria La Maliosa in Maremma, Tuscany

From the first time I visited Fattoria La Maliosa in Maremma, I was captivated. A natural winery in the truest sense, La Maliosa is a...

25 September, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Stolpman 2023 Ballard Canyon AVA “La Cuadrilla” Red Blend

In wine, and in life, it is easy to forget that community is at the heart of everything. The best wines do not just reflect...

24 September, 2025

Wine Beyond the Glass: My Two Days at Avignonesi

After a long international flight, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Rome to Montepulciano, and only enough time for a quick shower, I was ready for my...

23 September, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Joseph Jewell 2023 Elk Prairie Cabernet Franc Humboldt County

When you think of Humboldt County, wine probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind (timber or marijuana might be). Located on California’s rugged...

17 September, 2025

Legends and Icons: The Families and Pioneers Who Shaped Sonoma Wine

The wine regions in California were not born from convenience, privilege, or accident. They were carved out by people with hard work, grit, and the...

16 September, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Cuatro Dias 2023 Orange Moscato, Paso Robles

The word Moscato makes you think the wine will be sweet. The aromatic nose will also imply the same. But The Cuatros Dias 2023 Orange...

10 September, 2025

Into the Fog: A Visit to Fort Ross Vineyard

A couple of months have passed since my visit to Fort Ross Vineyard in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, yet the memory clings to me like...

09 September, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Two Shepherds 2023 Natty Pets Sparkling Orange Wine

I spent much of the summer on the road. But with a few days at home finally, I carved out a late afternoon to sit...

03 September, 2025

The Story Behind the Label: Ironstone Vineyards in the Sierra Foothills

Stroll down the wine aisle, and the shelves stretch endlessly with a sea of labels competing for your attention. Sometimes it is the familiar logo...

02 September, 2025

Cabernet Franc Finds Its Champion in Livermore Valley With Steven Kent Winery

In June 2025, the Livermore Valley wine region officially declared Cabernet Franc as its signature grape variety and formed the Cab Franc Guild, an organization...

28 August, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Full Tilt Wines 2024 Rosato, Covelo AVA, Mendocino County

When we are in the full heat of the summer, it's time to go Full Tilt. That is, with the Full Tilt Wines 2024 Rosato,...

27 August, 2025

Caiarossa Revisited: From First Encounter to the Heart of the Tuscan Coast

When I first tasted Caiarossa wines in 2016, it was across a table in Los Angeles with French-born winemaker Dominique Génot and a lineup of...

26 August, 2025

Sta. Rita Hills Celebrates Wine & Fire and Honors Norm Yost of Flying Goat Cellars as 2025 Vintner of the Year

Every fall, Sta. Rita Hills in the Santa Ynez Valley hosts one of my favorite wine events: Wine & Fire weekend. It’s a time when...

21 August, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Perlegos 2023 Assyrtiko Sparkling Wine, Clements Hills, Lodi

On a recent road trip across California, I picked up a few special bottles along the way. On my way home, I stopped to visit...

20 August, 2025

Montefili: Elegance at Altitude in Chianti Classico

Chianti Classico sits at the very center of one of Italy’s most historic wine regions. Its boundaries were first mapped in the 18th century, and...

19 August, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Marchelle Wines Tribute to Travis Proctor 2024 Carbonic Pinot Noir, Harmony Lane Vineyard, Russian River Valley

When I heard “carbonic Pinot Noir,” I was curious. But then I heard the story behind the wine. It’s a wine that honors the legacy,...

13 August, 2025

Celebrating 35 Years of Bernardus: A Legacy of Elegance in Carmel Valley

This year marks 35 years since Bernardus Winery was founded in the rolling hills of Carmel Valley, a vision brought to life by Dutch entrepreneur...

12 August, 2025

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Idlewild 2023 Timorasso, Las Cimas, Russian River Valley

Timorasso may not be a household name, but it’s a grape with deep roots in Piemonte. Nearly extinct by the 1980s, this ancient variety has...

06 August, 2025