Wine tasting can be intimidating, but with a few hints, tasting wine can be lot of fun. And remember, there isn’t a right or wrong answer…it’s your preference. All you need is a little knowledge to back up your opinion and you’ll wow your friends with your tasting skills. I share 3 steps on how to taste wine along with flavor and aroma descriptors plus a downloadable wine descriptions chart. We hope you have fun learning how to taste wine and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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When we travel, we rely on recommendations of friends and family to send us to those out-of-the-way spots that make the trip more memorable. And when friends visit us, we love to send them to our favorite spots. Sarah Hafner wrote a blog about her favorite things to do in Healdsburg from the best place for a morning pastry to a must-see garden shop to her favorite Healdsburg restaurants. 

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The concept of food and wine pairing can be intimidating, but in reality it can be as complex or as simple as you want. I prefer to have it be simple. That is why I thought it would be fun to create a "Food and Wine Pairing" Cootie Catcher. It includes eight different pairings that we often enjoy in our home. In this article, you can download your own cootie catcher, cut it out and hopefully put it to good use. I thought it would be fun for Holiday gatherings or as a stocking stuffers. Enjoy!

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The goal of every winemaker is to produce the best wine they can each year. We have been making wine here at Hafner Vineyard for over 35 years, and we enjoy the wines we produce, so we are not trying to make dramatic changes, but we are always looking at ways to make subtle improvements. This harvest, I convinced Parke to do a labor intensive experiment - barrel fermenting Cabernet Sauvignon. We barrel ferment Chardonnay, but Cabernet is a bit more challenging. Here, I share a sneak peek at the experiment in action. 

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Every few years, I create a new watercolor for our Holiday Offering that we send to patrons in the beginning of November. Each painting depicts a different scene from the winter celebrations such as a bountiful Holiday table or a festive front door. Throughout the year, I worked on a new watercolor that is featured on this year's Holiday Offering. It is a painting that reminds me of the Holiday Season, fun, laughter and family. We hope you've received yours and enjoy it. In this blog, I share my inspiration for the winter cabin watercolor.

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