Living between Western Pennsylvania and the San Francisco Bay Area means holding two very different worlds at once: the place we're building for the future, and the place that shaped our palate over the last fifteen years. With Napa and Sonoma practically in our backyard out West, it's no surprise that we've become unapologetically spoiled by California wine — especially the big, bold, tannin‑forward Cabernets that Napa does better than anyone.
One thing we've learned along the way is that wine is deeply personal. There's a bottle for every taste and every budget, which is why I always recommend taking recommendations lightly. A $15 bottle can be someone's weeknight favorite. A $500 Opus One might be someone else's idea of a splurge. The joy is in the exploration, not the price tag.
Over the years, that exploration has led us to a few wineries that feel like home:
- Sequoia Grove Winery — our longtime club membership and a benchmark for structured, expressive Napa Cabernet. sequoiagrove.com
- Amici Cellars — another longtime club membership; polished, powerful, and consistently aligned with our palate. amicicellars.com
- Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) — their Napa Valley Cab is a drinkable everyday wine, reliable and well structured. bvwines.com
While we both love big Napa Cabernets, Jon's personal favorite red variety is actually Cabernet Franc — the kind with structure and grip rather than the softer, fruit‑forward style. Our friends joke that we like wines so tannin‑forward they "suck the moisture out of your mouth," and honestly… they're not wrong.
Italy deserves its own post, but I'll say this much here: even when an Italian wine is described as "tannin‑forward," it will never taste like a Napa Cabernet. The grapes are different. The climate is different. The winemaking philosophy is different. That contrast is part of what makes wine so endlessly fascinating.
As we plan for a life in Western Pennsylvania while still rooted in the SF Bay Area, wine becomes one of the threads that ties our two coasts together. It's a reminder that taste evolves, place matters, and the best bottles are the ones that become part of your story.