Winemaking

“Hey Baby, what’s your sign?” is more than just a pick up line these days.  According to the San Diego based company 12 Signs Wine, there is also a wine for every sign! 12 Signs Wine (www.12signswine.com) is the first brand to pair wine with astrology.  Each bottle was handcrafted to match the personality of your sign, whether that is bold and feisty like an Aries Old Vine Zinfandel, bright and vibrant like a Gemini Chardonnay, or romantic like a Pisces Pinot Noir.    For the first vintage the wines are categorized by Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.  Read below to find out which wine is paired with your sign. Fire Signs include Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. These naturally outgoing signs need a wine that makes a statement as big as they do!  The Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius wine is a…

One of my favorite dishes growing up was my grandmother’s beef stroganoff. Recently, someone offered me the challenge of re-creating this wholesome comfort dish… WITHOUT using dairy. Considering the main ingredients in a beef stroganoff include CREAM of mushroom soup and sour CREAM, it was quite the challenge. After some careful thought, I developed my…

The San Diego Beer and Wine Tours Team is thrilled to announce a new addition to our team! Stephen Ansley has just joined us and we couldn’t be more pleased! Stephen Ansley is well-known and respected in the local craft beer community, and a personal friend of many highly respected local brewers. As a recognized…

This past week, I have been practicing my vegan dishes. It’s fun to find new and healthier ways to prepare some of your favorite meals. Ever try making a chocolate cake … using an avocado? I did! In order to prepare a vegan chocolate cake, you eliminate all ingredients that stem from animals. A healthy…

The weather in San Diego this past Saturday was gorgeous! After spending the last three winters in NYC, its lovely to spend a warm, sunny day out biking on New Year’s Eve. This New Year’s Eve I combined two of my favorite things: cycling and Mediterranean food! While out on the bikes, we stumbled upon…

There are so many delicious neighborhoods in San Diego to explore. I recently moved within walking distance of Little Italy, so I decided to check my new local eateries. After only a few blocks, I came across Pete’s Quality Meats and Grilled Sandwiches.  Their window claimed to have the best homemade sausage sandwiches in town!…

Happy Halloween! I’m sure our 9 guests had no idea what they were getting themselves into when a “Witch” met them at the train station shouting “La Jolla Wine Tours!” Instead of running away in fright, our guests were brave and approached their very strange looking tour guide. Fortunately they did, because what a fun…

Oct. 5, 2011 Rainy Day Wine Tour “Rain or shine, we WILL drink WINE!” This seemed to be our motto yesterday as I led our 8 guests on a soggy winery train tour! As we began the tour we enjoyed a light misting as we made our way to lunch. We wined and dined as we discussed wine tasting, the art of winemaking and food pairing. Well fed and thirsty for more wine, we said goodbye to our gracious lunch host and crossed our fingers for a dry walk to our first Urban Winery stop. Apparently our fingers weren’t crossed tight enough. We sloshed quickly through the lake-sized puddles that lay between us our wine tasting. A few glasses of wine later, we were drying off nicely and enjoying a very informative tour of the winery. What a treat! The…

Our lovely Coaster Train Wine Tour today started off beautifully in a scenic north San Diego Village. We ate more than enough at our partner fine-dining Italian restaurant and learned all about wine tasting and the process of evaluating wine. Once full of delicious Italian fare, we strolled over to our first urban Winery and…

La Jolla Wine Tours, Train Tour, April 14, 2011 (Written by Marti Bommarito) An Oenophile Takes to the Rails I could sense that this was going to be an exceptional group to pass the time sharing good food, wine, and company. Four Brits, Elaine and Andrew, Romi and Matt; three Nebraskans, Shawn, Shelley and Mayra;…