April 17th is an under-appreciated day. A few days past tax day, but there isn’t much else to savor. Until you consider that the 17th of April is officially Malbec World Day! Now that is something to celebrate!

Cupertino is the heart of Silicon Valley, famous as the birthplace of technology giants. It does, however, have more than computers to offer. The Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society recently celebrated another point of pride: their winemakers!

Regular visitors to the Bliss recognize that most of our wine tasting takes place in Northern California. This is not much of a limitation, given the incredibly diverse range of wines to be celebrated. It is quite exciting, though, to venture out of our own backyard and experience the wines of other regions. Today’s focus: Burgundy France!

In the beginning, there was no Champagne. Well, there was a PLACE called Champagne, but there was no bubbly known by that name. Through happy happenstance, wine makers in the Champagne region of France mastered the art of producing sparkling wine and everything changed. But what is the deal with all of the different terms for wine with bubbles?

We love discovering new wineries, especially the less well-known, smaller ones. We rarely venture too far from home, but we were recently treated to an introduction to quite a few European wineries — without leaving California!

Making wine is a wonderful blend of art and science! The process has been refined over millennia, with each generation building on the advances from before. Each step of the wine making process has a specific and unique contribution to the whole. Ever wonder why most wines are aged in barrels? Here’s what you should know:

This grape is one of the most widely planted wine grapes in France, yet most American wine lovers have never heard of it. Can you guess its name? You’re right, it is our newest favorite grape: the Pinot Meunier!

We love wine tasting in the Healdsburg area! The “Pinot on the River” event that we attended a few years ago was a great example of good food, good wine and a good cause. We recently learned that Healdsburg was hosting an event that combines two of our loves: pinot and pork. This charity event […]

With the holidays rushing toward us at light speed, it is great to find some respite while helping those less fortunate. Livermore’s Holidays in the Vineyards is one of our favorite Christmas traditions.

The Thanksgiving leftovers have been put away and taken back out again for additional meals and the neighbors already have their icicle lights up and inflatable Minnie and Mickey on the lawn, which means it’s time to stop slacking and get this Christmas shopping started! While on-line shopping has made the shopping experience easier (hello wine and yoga pants), it has not made the chore of picking out just the right gift any easier. If you’re like me, you have quite a few friends and family that enjoy wine so these wine themed gifts might just help check off of few people on your list.

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner is a wonderful and terrible thing at once. It is great to be surrounded by family and friends, but the pressure of delivering the ideal Thanksgiving feast can humble anyone. Pairing some great wines with all the wonderful food adds an additional layer of pressure, so we thought that we would suggest some of our “go to” pairings that never let us down.