What goes into a bottle of wine? What’s behind the label? Where does your favorite wine come from?

To be clear, I’m not asking about the location of the vineyard or tasting room. I’m not asking about the varietal, whether the winemaker used French or American oak, or how long the wine was aged. I’m talking here about people. I’m talking about the person whose name is on the label. For some consumers, that means something.

For others (and perhaps for most), price and quality are what matter. Many consumers are not particularly interested in who makes the wine they buy – ...

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The adoption of social media in the wine industry provides a counter-intuitive insight. It is often said that social media helps "level the playing field," that it helps small businesses compete with larger companies.

And yet it seems to me that in the wine industry it is the bigger, more successful wineries that have more fully embraced social media as a way to engage consumers. By contrast, so many small wineries are struggling to figure it out and take advantage of the opportunity that social media offers.

Two charts in a webinar presented by Silicon Valley Bank and titled State of the Wine ...

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That's a rhetorical question, of course. Americans have been drinking wine since well before there was an America to drink wine in.

It's equally true that wine appreciation in America is not a new phenomenon, although it seems to have grown significantly in the last few decades, especially among the middle class. It's definitely true that Americans now spend more on wine. And according to the Wine Market Council, the US wine market has continued to grow in spite of the economic downturn that began in 2008.

However, "American wine drinkers [still] consume much less wine than many other countries on a per ...

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Route 3 Wines 2009 Syrah is a pleasant red wine, a good choice to serve this summer alongside grilled pork chops or chicken.

Route 3 Wines 2009 Syrah. Pork chop with collard greens sautéed in bacon fat.

According to Craig Jones, the sales and marketing director at Route 3 Wines, the 2009 syrah is a lighter wine than the previous vintage. I haven't tasted the 2008, but I would agree with his assessment of the '09 vintage. Syrah can be a masculine wine, but this is a softer version, a comfortable, very approachable wine that is eminently drinkable today.

In the ...

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Yolo County produces high-quality wines at very affordable prices. Perhaps that’s not news to you, but it was to me.

I should know better.

During my love affair with wine, I’ve always focused on the major wine regions in California (especially Napa and Sonoma, but also Amador, the Central Coast, and Mendocino). I’ve neglected the wines in my own backyard.

If I’m completely honest, I have to admit I’ve been kind of a snob.

No longer. Thanks to the Roots to Wine event that took place recently in Winters, Calif., I discovered that Yolo County, where I live, is home to high-quality and affordable wines. ...

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Route 3 Wines 2011 Albariño offers exotic flavors to white wine fans who want to explore beyond chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. Route 3 Wines come from estate-grown vineyards in the Dunnigan Hills of Yolo County, northwest of Sacramento.

The Wine Bible, an encyclopedia of information about wine by Karen MacNeil, describes albariño as "a racy, refreshing wine considered one of the best matches in the world for seafood." The grape is grown primarily in the region of Rías Baixas in northwest Spain. (It's also grown in Portugal and lately has been making an appearance in California.)

MacNeil goes on to say this ...

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Route 3 Wines in Yolo County may be relatively new to the wine scene, but the family that produces these wines has been farming in the area for more than 40 years. People talk about wine beginning in the vineyard; that philosophy is nowhere more true than with this small wine estate in Dunnigan Hills.

Muller Family Creates Yolo Vineyards, Then Route 3 Wines

Dairy farmers before they moved to Yolo County, the Muller family were soon growing tomatoes, grain, and alfalfa. In 1988 Joe Muller & Sons planted their first vineyard, and in 1994 they created Yolo Vineyards.  Route 3 Wines was born ...

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