California – A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity

RKS Wine: Moving Beyond The Great American Pull to Develop the Canadian Wine Industry

One result of Trumpian aggression towards Canada has been The Great American Pull removing American alcohol products from Canadian liquor stores. A quasi Nouveau Prohibition. Patriotic Canadians can clap, cheer and make a “sacrifice” foregoing Californian wine foistered upon them by profit driven liquor control boards luxuriating in easy profits from customers they have historicallyContinue reading “RKS Wine: Moving Beyond The Great American Pull to Develop the Canadian Wine Industry”

RKS Travel: The Botanical Beauty of the Desert: Sunnylands Center and Gardens in Rancho Mirage, California

Many know of Rancho Mirage’s plethora of spectacular golf courses, country clubs, glam hotels and restaurants set amid palm trees and the brown towering and sometimes snowcapped mountains of the Coachella Valley in Southern California but one should not overlook the Sunnylands Centre & Gardens located at 37977 Bob Hope Drive. Sunnylands is a 200-acreContinue reading “RKS Travel: The Botanical Beauty of the Desert: Sunnylands Center and Gardens in Rancho Mirage, California”

RKS 2024 Wine: Four Vines Old Vine Zinfandel: Of Water and Wine

President Elect Donald Trump may have dazzled his MAGA base with tough guy protectionism promising a 25% tariff on all Canadian products entering the United States. Seems of late he has admitted this may lead to an increased cost of living for Americans. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly scampered down to Mar-a-Lago to persuadeContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Four Vines Old Vine Zinfandel: Of Water and Wine”

RKS 2024 Wine: A Field Blend from Russian River: Groggy and Sluggish?

My experience with field blend is a Portuguese one. Once upon a time grapes were grapes and wine was wine. Different grapes could be planted willy nilly in the vineyard. Harvest them and you got a bit of this and that grape. Another type of field blend is where two or more different grape varietiesContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: A Field Blend from Russian River: Groggy and Sluggish?”

RKS 2024 Wine: McManis 2022 Petite Sirah: Berlin Wall of Blackberry: Bland? Predictable? Reliable? Uninspiring? Consumer Friendly? Cali Conundrum

It is not common to encounter a Petite Sirah as a single varietal wine. It produces tannic wines with a savoury and almost meaty character and dense blackberry fruit making it a useful blender but if the tannins are carefully managed it can make an age worthy and supple wine on its lonesome. Aroma: WowContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: McManis 2022 Petite Sirah: Berlin Wall of Blackberry: Bland? Predictable? Reliable? Uninspiring? Consumer Friendly? Cali Conundrum”