Erica's Choice

It’s Labor Day and as a result a three day holiday weekend has finally arrived!  In the US this calls for a barbecue with friends and family to enjoy the last remnants of the summer, reminisce about the good times we had and the great times ahead. With barbecue being the main attraction the wines [...]

Gruner Veltliner has recently been on the map as one of the greatest new up and coming wine varietals. Grown primarily in Austria GV plantations account for approximately 32% of all wine planted there with the majority of these vineyards located in the northeast of the country. Historically known as sweeter and/or sparkling wines, Austria [...]

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a wine tasting event held at Waterford Wine Co. in Milwaukee. During the event we tasted a variety of Cabernet Sauvignon blends from Washington State and Napa Valley regions. The wines sampled included varietals from Paul Hobbs, Pahlmeyer, Cliff Lede, Shafer and Viader, among other. One of [...]

Silver Oak Cellars was founded in 1972 by Raymond Twomey Duncan, an entrepreneur with a vision to establish quality Cabernet Sauvignon that would be delicious no matter whether one drinks it the day of its release or 10 years later. The fist vineyards were established in Alexander Valley and upon successfully releasing quality Cabernet Sauvignon [...]

I had the opportunity to participate in an exclusive wine tasting held during MKEWineCraze, hosted by Clear, Bar & Restaurant in the InterContinental hotel, downtown Milwaukee hotel on June 16. The purpose of the special tasting was to introduce us to MKEWineCraze, which occurs each Wednesday 5:30 – 8:30 PM. Stephan Fritz, Restaurant & Wine [...]

Passion is, as defined in Merriam Webster dictionary, a strong liking or desire for or strong devotion to some activity, object, or concept. Passion is what drives people to invent new technology, the win the Tour De France 7 times or to run their first marathon. Passion personally drives me to run, golf, travel, to [...]

Auckland, New Zealand, tucked away deep down under, 3 hours flight from Sydney, Australia; 15 hours flight from LAX; is one of those places that, due its far proximity from Europe and the Americas, doesn’t make it on the travel destination list of everyone.  However, those that have had the chance to visit this rugby [...]

The Jacuzzi family vineyard was founded in Northern California in 1921 by the Jacuzzi family that immigrated to the US in 1911. Today they own vineyards in Sonoma-Carneros and the Petaluma Gap situated in the Sonoma Coast appellation and have produced wines for over 60 years. It is in Sonoma Carneros where they grow their [...]

The day I started exploring the world of wine I realized that not only does enjoying a glass of wine please the palate and senses but also that I have opened the door to a whole new universe which goes far beyond the most essential part of the hobby, the actual liquid that we so [...]

Over the past year my blog has dramatically grown all because of you that read, review and that continue to critique my work. Thank you for the feedback and thank you for continuing to inspire me to keep this blog alive! I love sharing my stories with you and I love the fact that I [...]