Tom Marquardt

1 week ago | capitalgazette.com | Tom Marquardt |Patrick Darr

When we first heard of Priest Ranch Winery in Napa Valley, we were drawn by the names of its wines. How could you not want to taste a wine called Snake Oil or Coach Gun? So, we did — for several years. And then we just had to talk to winemaker Cody Hurd. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with a church but rather its founder, James Joshua Priest, a gold prospector who founded the property in 1869.

2 weeks ago | capitalgazette.com | Tom Marquardt |Patrick Darr

Who claims there are no second acts in life? Malbec, a virtually forgotten grape in its ancestral home of Bordeaux, has been reborn in a land thousands of miles away in another hemisphere. Although once an important part of the noble grape varieties of Bordeaux, a severe freeze in 1956 and a history of challenges led to a dramatic decline of malbec. It is still popular in the Cahors region of France where it makes up at least 70% of the region’s red wines.

3 weeks ago | baltimoresun.com | Tom Marquardt |Patrick Darr

When most wine aficionados think of the Piedmont region of Italy, the nebbiolos of Barolo and Barbaresco usually come to mind. However, there are a plethora of other grapes grown in this region in the northwestern corner of Italy that rival the notoriety of barolo and barbaresco even if many Americans don't associate them with Piedmont. Barbera and moscato are the leading grapes grown in Piedmont and many Americans have consumed them despite not knowing where they are grown.

1 month ago | baltimoresun.com | Tom Marquardt |Patrick Darr

Wine labeling can be confusing to many consumers. Most Americans are familiar with California wine labels that prominently display the grape varietal with the general region as secondary. Other new world wineries follow the same pattern. But Old World wineries still cling to their tradition of focusing on the vineyard location with no mention of the grape variety. The pride associated with location is paramount. France, Germany, Spain and Portugal follow this time-tested labeling custom.

1 month ago | baltimoresun.com | Tom Marquardt |Patrick Darr

It pays to have connections. That's certainly the case for Kale Anderson, a wine consultant for several premium wineries in Napa Valley. He interned at Colgin Cellars, became winemaker at Cliff Lede and then served as director of winemaking at Pahlmeyer from 2012 to 2016. He has worked with such luminaries as Helen Turley and Randy Dunn, and his hands were on the 2016 Pahlmeyer Raison d'Etre that scored a perfect 100 points from the Wine Advocate.