SacWineRegion

Sacramento became the temporary heart of the domestic wine industry last week as a record 13,400 people attended the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. more ...

The wine pairings couldn't have been more perfect, each with an underlying floral character that reflected a spring-flavored French Laundry menu in May 2010. A rosé from Domaines Ott Chateau de Selle, Do Ferreiro albarino, Williams Selyem pinot noir – these were among the wines assembled by Anani Lawson on a night that happened to be his final dinner service as sommelier at the French Laundry. more ...

Some Sacramento-area wine enthusiasts made a case in 2012 that chenin blanc should be Sacramento's signature grape. While this white wine grape is best known as a signature varietal of France's Loire Valley, chenin blanc has been planted for decades in Clarksburg and is a hallmark of the Sacramento Delta. more ...

"Wine Buzz" wishes everyone a happy holiday season, and hope you pop something special and share with good friends and family. There's plenty to toast among the local wine region, which enjoyed a fairly solid 2012. more ...

Last week, "Wine Buzz" visited Shafer Vineyards in Napa, which recently earned "wine of the year" honors by Wine Spectator magazine. Turns out one local winery earned some year-end kudos from Wine Spectator as well. more ...

The news arrived at the perfect time for Shafer Vineyards of Napa. On Nov. 16, Wine Spectator magazine named the 2008 Shafer Napa Valley Relentless as its wine of the year for 2012, besting such top producers in the wine world as Chateau Leoville Barton of Bordeaux and Sonoma's famed Marcassin Vineyard. more ...

Let's take this time to make a toast to tempranillo. It's one of Spain's signature wine grapes, and also finds a home around Northern California's wine region. Bokisch Vineyards of Lodi scored a gold medal with its tempranillo at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, while Berryessa Gap's 2008 Rocky Ridge Tempranillo was named as one of the San Francisco Chronicle's top 100 wines of 2010. more ...

Stuart Spoto will soon be leaving on a jet plane, and with plenty of wine on his mind. Spoto, who runs the boutique Spoto Wines from his Arden Oaks home, will be among the vintners pouring at "A Taste of Oakville – Live at Carnegie Hall" on Nov. 14. more ...

Ah, the heart of the harvest season. Drive around wine country this time of year and you're likely to find trucks hauling freshly picked grapes and catch the tangy whiff of juice that'll soon be fermented into wine. more ...

Is Sacramento's central city, the nonpastoral land of sidewalks and street parking, on the verge of hosting its own wine trail? That's in the talking stages, as a new wine tasting room is expected to open by mid- November in midtown. more ...