We always love visiting the folks at Iron Horse Vineyards, and our MKT Stretch Limousine is the perfect way to do it in Sonoma Sterling style!  

Did you know that Wine Road is now doing seminars? We have found that visitors appreciate the opportunity to attend smaller, more intimate tasting experiences, featuring two to four different wineries. In these smaller setting, guests get to know the people behind the wines. They learn a little winery history and have the opportunity to sample wines from different wineries, side-by-side.  When planning, we also leave plenty of time for "audience participation" with Q & A. These seminars are open to the general public, but are offered at a 50% discount to our Wine Road Insider members. Details on Insider Membership HERE To keep that small, personalized vibe, each seminar/tasting is limited to 20-30 people, depending on the location. We have scheduled them early in the day, so you can start with the seminar, then head out for an afternoon of wine tasting. Our 2023 Seminar Series Schedule Sparkling Discoveries ~ May 13, 2023  9:30-11:00am Location: Amista Vineyar

Afternoon Brief, December 20th

Has Wine Country Become Too Expensive for Its Own Good?: One thing became very clear over the course of this year: Visiting Wine Country has gotten really expensive...

Afternoon Brief, December 12th

Champagne Producers Rebel Against Environmental Reverse: Winemakers have fired the first shots in what could be a damaging battle between producers and Champagne's powers-that-be...

Afternoon Brief, October 20th

Forbes Names Vintage Wine Estates President Terry Wheatley to the Second Annual "50 Over 50" List: Forbes Magazine has announced its selection of Vintage Wine Estates President Terry Wheatley on its second annual 50 Over 50 List, produced in partnership with Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," and her "Know Your Value" platform...

Brian Baker is well known in the wine industry as a Sales and Profitability specialist and has given many talks and workshops on the subject. He is also a managing partner of Cultivar Marketing, which provides wine sales and marketing consulting. We recently reached out to Brian to discuss the future of the tasting room, especially in the face of COVID-19 quarantine.   Milton Cornwell: Thank you for agreeing to the interview, Brian! There is a lot I want to discuss with you, especially with all the changes we’re seeing with coronavirus [COVID-19] and how wineries are embracing technology. I can’t help but compare this to Y2K—that event fundamentally changed how companies embraced technology. Are we in a similar kind of moment now?   Brian Baker: It is a pivotal moment, if that’s what you mean. Disruptive events like these have disruptive consequences. They also create opportunities. Coming out of this crisis, winery-owned tasting rooms have a c

  Posted by Laura Ness of Spirited Magazine | Mar 31, 2020 | Packaging, Equipment, Wine, Production    You have to be just slightly natters to engage in a livelihood that can literally blow up on you—and yet, the sisterhood (and brotherhood) of bubbles runs deep. That’s probably why it’s considered the ne plus ultra of winemaking. There are many ways to sparkle a beverage, but méthode Champenoise is considered the highest form of sparkling art. It’s a process that’s been painstakingly perfected, by hand, over the centuries. It requires two entirely separate fermentations, the second of which occurs in the bottle, which is where the magic happens. Says Todd Graff, winemaker and general manager at Frank Family Vineyards in Napa Valley, “The secondary fermentation in the bottle is the trickiest part, because however many bottles you’re making, each is an individual fermentation.” Méthode Champenoise is time consuming, filled with repetitive tedium, complicated (often by many months o