hen it comes to serving wine, there is nothing sexier than decanting. The pop of the cork, followed by the glug, glug, glug as you …
We get asked this question a LOT and the answer always is – ‘it depends.’ But, let’s start with the basics:
How Long Does an UNOPENED …
Headache or Hangover?
Many of us have been there, you wake up the next morning a little foggy with a headache – it must be the …
t Koi Zen Cellars, we are constantly trying to make the world a better place. One way we can do this is to reduce our …
ne day you find a great Koi Zen Cellars wine that you just love and want to age it a little but you don’t know …
s the days get hotter, the harvest gets closer and the more a winemaker starts thinking about making wine. The first step to making quality …
“Contains Sulfites” – this little phrase cases a lot of concern and confusion – most of which is inaccurate. ulfites are a naturally occurring molecule that …
Storing Wine:
As the weather warms, it is time to think about your wine collection and how best to keep it tasting great even if you …
Aging:
Last time I talked about how varietals that grow together go together – most time, but to really get a nice wine, you have to …
Review:
Last week we talked about how are we going to take 8 barrels of Cabernet Franc and figure out what went into bottles, on tap, …
Blending wine is easy: Gather some barrels of wine,
Gather some friends to taste the wine,
Blend the barrels you want together – done. It …
Last Sunday morning a group of us met at the winery and caravanned up to Deer Park Monastery north of Escondido. The Monastery was established …
About 10 days ago, I was up in Sonoma drinking some fine wine and hanging out with some friends in the vineyard. What I didn’t …
I spent last weekend hanging out in Sonoma with some friends planning some really cool stuff that you will hear about in a week or …
5 years ago, I stood in the parking lot puffing on what was to be my last cigarette. I was nervous. My heart was racing and …
On Monday, Lisa was opening the winery for a yoga class and discovered that the winery had been broken into. The window next to the …
I have heard the expression “hurry up and wait” over and over while working with the military for over 20 years and the same expression …
Earlier in the month, the NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service) released the 2018 Grape Crush Report which is an impressive 164 pages of all kinds …
Pre-dawn one cold morning last November, Steve and I were standing in the Camp Four vineyard in Santa Ynez staring at 12 macro bins heaping …
As the weather warms and the winter clouds begin to fade, the grape vines are waking up. The vineyards have soaked up the winter rains …
As spring rolls in, it’s time to rack and roll in the cellar. The 2017 wine is getting ready for bottling and the 2018 wine …
ast week we talked about barrels, but what about bottles? Starting about 6,000 BCE large earthenware containers called “kvevri” were used in the country of Georgia; …
s a winemaker, I smell a lot of wine. Some wines are very aromatic and others are more reserved. Some smell like fruit while others …
Next week a small armada of Koi Zen Cellars folks will be converging in Sacramento. Nothing starts the new year off as a trip to Sacramento …
We are so happy to announce that we will be releasing our 2016 Syrah during August’s Wine Club Release Party. Wine club members will be …
This year we are contracting for 5 tons of Grenache which is a new varietal for us @KoiZen and I am getting super excited along …
[ct_definition title=”def” ] “Hurrying and delaying are similar ways of trying to resist the present” – Alan Watts [/ct_definition] ow is the big silence, the calm before the …
On July 1, 1863, the Union and Confederate forces met head to head outside of the small town of Gettysburg, PA and over the next …
Our girls have graduated from college and now have their own apartments; however, a lot of their stuff is still in our house. Along with …
have been meditating seriously for about 3 months now. Once per day, I find a quiet spot and focus my attention for 20 minutes on …
ver the last few months I have put on some weight, well maybe more that some. I could blame it on the wine, but it …
was in the winery a few weeks ago and there were two ladies sitting apart enjoying a glass of wine while distracted on their phones. …
ave you heard that Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah signed the “free-range parenting” bill into legislation? This is bill is completely insane! It actually ALLOWS children …
have met many wine snobs who think they know everything there is to know about anything but is this really true? Well according to a Yale …
hey say if you want to gain empathy with someone, you need to walk in their shoes. This allows you to understand the way they …
ast night Lisa and I got up at 5:00 am and watched the Super Blue Blood Moon which was really cool. This TRIFECTA occurrence of …
Budai:
You can find the Happy Buddha – Budai everywhere in China and it is said to bring good luck and fortune if you rub his …
Blame your great-great-great-grandparents for the cost of wine! Between the years of 1920 to 1033, there was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation …
A Stroke of Luck
I woke up not feeling very well. My body was stiff and my whole right side was numb. I guess I had …
What are Wine Ratings?
If you have been following this series for the last few weeks, we have talked about Seeing, Swirling, Smelling, Sipping and Savoring …
My Head Hurts:
Is your aching head caused by a hangover or intolerance to wine? When the body consumes too much alcohol it often starts complaining the …
So far we have Seen, Swirled, Smelled, Sipped and now we get to Savoring the wine. So if you haven’t swallowed your will from before, …
Tannins Drying your Tounge Out? So you sip that expensive Napa Cab packed with tannin and all of a sudden your lips are sticking to your …
Many people grab a glass of wine and just chuck it back while in mid-sentence while being highly distracted; instead let’s learn how to focus …
Is there a Funk or a Skunk in my wine? Hopefully many of you have spent the last week wandering around sniffing all sorts of things. …
I hope you all had a chance to take a moment to LOOK at your wine over the last week; now we are going to …
If you are wine tasting, or just having a glass, before you take that next sip of wine, stop and take a good long look …
Last weekend we had a small bottling run and bottled about 105 cases of Mourvedre which is a typical run for us. We got the …
Last week Lisa and I took an afternoon and investigated the northern half of the Willamette Valley in Oregon just south of Portland. It is …
On April 24th, 2016 Koi Zen Cellars celebrated our 1 year anniversary. We planned 5 days of events and right now are very tired, but …
Cork Production, Sustainability and Carbon Footprint: This week we will be exploring natural corks and their use in the wine industry. Before opening the winery, I …
Last week I wrote about how wine generally can be classified as either Old World, or New World. Well here is a twist I think …
Old meets new at the Judgement of Paris 40 years ago.
On May 24, 1976, Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant organized a blind tasting of …
Lisa and I just spent two wonderful days in Paso Robles exploring wine country and attending the WiVi (Wine & Viticulture) convention. It has been …
Is Global Warming causing early Bud Break?
A lot of people ask me how the drought and global warming is affecting winegrowers around the state. I …
During our Parties, we have been having a lot of fun over @KoiZenCellars; here is a video of some highlights of some club pickups, events …
Terroir is a French word with no literal translation in English and the closes we can come to is “earth”, “soil”, or “place”. This word …
If you haven’t tried our 2014 Pinot Gris from Monterey then you haven’t had to opportunity to taste the fresh fruits and minerality of the …
Check out our new Ferrari convertible! Our Ferrari is a manual corking machine made in Italy and yes it is called a Ferrari. Over the last …
LOCAL ARTIST GALLERY SHOWING
SAVE THE DATE: Friday February 5, 2016
We are so exited to host Ramon Britton as our next local artist here at Koi …
This year, the grape harvest has been a roller coaster for the growers and winemakers; we are just about finished winemaking at the winery! We will …
id you know that there are over 100,000 private and custom wine labels in the United States? And how many of them have your name, logo …
We have been having so much fun hosting meetings and meet-ups at the winery. There are so many interesting people, opportunities and connections. Now I …
They say that winemaking is part science and part art and the artistry shows while blending. We are offering wine blending parties for you and …
We have been so blessed by all of the great people who have come into our urban winery and shared their time with us. All …
Thank You!!!!
We cannot extend enough gratitude to everyone who attended our grand opening week, or helped us get ready! On Thursday we had a soft opening …
Hi All:
Photography Update:
Even though the studio has been completely transformed into an Urban Winery, we are still shooting photo sessions. Photoshoots on location is the …
Update – Winery Construction Efforts:
This is an update on the winery construction project that we have started. We hope all is well with you as we …
Today we are all about Valentines, celebrate with a cool wine pairing technique.
Wine and Chocolate…It’s all About Sugar Baby!
There is no science (well, maybe a …
Hi All, Breaking News: We have just been informed that our TTB federal application is under initial review!!! Let’s hope things go smoothly. For the last month …
Hi All, This month was all about getting our CA ABC winery license and our TTB license. There are so many requirements and agencies involved. Here …
We can’t wait to tell you about the status of our first vintage! Monday, October 20, 2014 started off early for Lisa and I as we …
Hi All, We just wanted to let you know about some happenings at the Miller residence. Some of you may already know this, but Lisa and …