About Us

We are Sally & Jeff Toister and we love wine.

Our enthusiasm for wine initially came from family and friends sharing great bottles with us. Later, we would see the same bottle in a store or in a restaurant and remember the great experience we had.

This gave us confidence to buy that bottle again since we knew it would be good.

These experiences helped us plan our itinerary when we started traveling from our home in San Diego to wine regions like Napa, Sonoma, and the Willamette Valley. We would visit the wineries that made wines we enjoyed and discover new wineries suggested by friends.

These visits deepend our appreciation for the wine making process and the tremendous amount of care, craftsmanship, and love that winemakers put into making the perfect bottle.

This blog is really just a way to keep track of our adventures. However, we have learned three great rules for enjoying wine.

Rule#1: If you like the wine, it’s a good wine.

The best way to tell if a bottle of wine is any good is to taste it. We don’t care how much or how little it cost. It doesn’t matter how many points some wine critic gave it, whether the wine won a gold medal at the state fair, or if it is the winery’s super-deluxe special release. If you like the wine, it’s good. Period.

Rule #2: Wine brings people together.

Wine is a great reason to spend time with friends and family. An invitation to "come on over and drink some wine!" is usually met with enthusiasm. Likewise, "Let's go check out a new wine bar," is typically greeted with "Let's!". You can make any occasion seem special with a good bottle of wine.

Rule #3: Remember to have fun and you'll be fine.

We approach wine with a natural curiosity that leads us to fun and interesting experiences. That’s how we discovered the answer to big questions, such as:

What is the right temperature to serve a red wine?
Should you decant wine? (If so, what is the best decanter?)
What wine pairs best with Halloween candy?

The only way to answer any of those questions is to try it out!