In Ojai California Wine Country, Thinking Small Produces Big Flavors
My article in Food Wine Travel Magazine on Santa Paula winery Clos des Amis South Mountain Winery, published April 4, 2025. Read the story here.
Terry Nozick
High on Ojai’s Quality Wines
Ojai, a small haven known for its artists and wellness lifestyle gurus, is a paradise for weekenders looking for relaxation with beautiful views. As a wine region, Ojai has lived in the shadow of neighboring Santa Barbara County, where many Angelinos go for wine tourism. However, Ojai is also a budding wine region with surprises …
Value-for-Money Wines: Lessons Learned Working Retail
In this article written for VeroVino Craft Wines I explore the world of great value wines, from non-international and indigenous variety wines to “other bubbles” to “second” wines. Drawing on my 9+ years in wine retail, I provide my advice for consumers looking for great vino at affordable prices. Read the story here.
The Sorceress of Southern Tuscany
Sometimes you meet a person in life who inspires you to look more closely at yourself and your own dreams. That happened for me while on a recent press tour of Italian wineries, focused on Abruzzo and the Veneto (which was fabulous, read here). I was enticed to tack on a few days at the …
Cerasuolo: The Beautiful Rosato of Abruzzo
Abruzzo, Italy, is a region that sweeps west of Rome, over the rugged and steep Apennine Mountains that form the country’s backbone, and sloping down to the shores of the Adriatic Sea. It’s debated whether this is a Central or Southern Italian region (see map inset), but that’s beside the point to me. It’s a …
Tasting California Anew: Tercero, Notre Vue, Kaena
I’ve been attending a variety of wine events in the last couple of months, which included wines of the Rioja region of Spain, the Union Grands Crus of Bordeaux, wines from two producers in Virginia, and the Chablis wines of Patrick Piuze, to name a few. Not to mention my trip to Italy last fall, …
Lugana Winery #3: Cà dei Frati
This is the third and final installment on Lugana wineries that I visited last fall as part of the 2022 Wine Media Conference to this stunningly beautiful land in Lombardy, Italy. The other two wineries already presented are Ca’Lojera, a small family run producer, and Ottella, a larger producer with extensive art-filled facilities. Winery #3 Cà dei …
Lugana Winery #2, Cantina Ottella: Where Wine & Art Come Together
In the 16th century, all of the area around the current Cantina Otella winery in Northern Italy was called Otella, which is named for four sets of twins born there. These eight, or “octo,” became the namesake for the area. Stepping out of the bus last fall on my visit to Otella, in the town …
Lugana Winery #1: Ca’Lojera
As part of the Wine Media Conference 2022, held in Lake Garda, Italy, in early October, I was on a pre-conference excursion that included on-site visits with three outstanding Lugana DOC wine producers. Two of these wineries were state-of-the art, with such amenities as gravity flow production facilities, an amphora room, deep cellars full of …
Lugana: Land of Sunshine and White Wine
“Wine is sunlight, held together by water.” — Galileo Several years ago, I attended an Amarone tasting in Los Angeles, where there were just few white wines being poured. What was this grape, I asked, and was told it’s ‘Turbiana.’ I’d never heard of it. It’s not Trebbiano, the ubiquitous white wine grape of Italy, …