Our most popular post last week was our profile of David Ramey. There are giants in the California wine industry, and David is one of them. He is the epitome of the serious winemaker: after graduating from U.C. Davis and doing a stint with Christian Mouiex in Pomerol, he was the driving force behind Chalk Hill, Matanzas Creek, Dominus and Rudd. He founded Ramy Wine Cellars in 1996.

Yet for all his seriousness, he launched a brand called Sidebar in 2015 with the express purpose of having some fun. There’s little overlap between the Sidebar and Ramey wines: the lineup we reviewed included two vineyard-designated Sauvignon Blanc, a rosé made from Syrah, a red field blend and California’s only version of Kerner. The Sidebar wines are interesting, delightful and a pleasure to drink.

In other news, we profiled Laphroaig, one of the most heavily peated single malts in the Scottish Highlands, and review the Grand Cuvée Collection from Grand Marnier (Cuvée du Centenaire, Cuvée 1880 and Quintessence.

Here are last week’s posts:

Laphroaig: Adventures on the Peat Meter

Sidebar Cellars: David Ramey Cuts Loose

Grand Marnier: The Grand Cuvee Collection