I’ve waxed poetic before about my favorite new wine spot in town Garagiste. Well Eric and Mario have a wine club where they shoot out an email when they get in new wines. Most are limited quantity, but all are amazing and fun. When I...
When you think of Oregon wine country, you probably think first of Portland and then of the Willamette Valley nearby. If you dive a little deeper, perhaps the Applegate and Rogue River Valleys come on your radar, from the far southern end of the state. ...
When I discovered that the Italian Food Wine and Travel group (#ItalianFWT) was tackling Super Tuscans this month, I had a lot of questions, perhaps you do too. What is a Super Tuscan? Where did this name come from? Are Super Tuscans worth my time...
The world has changed. The current pandemic has thrown many of our plans into disarray, if not canceled them completely. When faced with this sudden change, we innovate and over the past months, I have seen quite a bit of innovation. This is a way...
Champagne. Possibly the most enchanting liquid on the planet. Joie de vivre in a glass. Is there anything better? Well, perhaps…if it is Champagne with a story and a great pairing. This month the French #Winophiles are diving into the “Unexpected Pleasures of Champagne”. We...
The group with Wine Pairing Weekend (#WinePW) is heading to New York. To the Finger Lakes to be specific. On Saturday June 13th there will be a gathering on twitter following the hashtag #WinePW to discuss the region, it’s wines and our pairings. We will...
Cava. Certainly at some point you have had sparkling wine from Spain. Perhaps the first time it was from one of those sleek black bottles from Freixenet. It’s time to go on another virtual trip traveling in a bottle to Spain, the home of Cava. ...
We find ourselves in strange unprecedented times. I find it hard to focus on wine when there are so many more important things to focus on right now. My country is going through change, a change that is long overdue. In addition we are still...
This area in the Western part of the Hunter Valley feels isolated and remote. As you pass through the village of Broke and drive down the 2 lane Wollombi Road, the hill of Yellow Rock rises up on your left while fields reach out past...
Valpolicella is primarily known for Amarone, but the grapes grown here are made into other wines. You will find red wines and Ripasso that are affordable and delightful. The Valpolicella Region This region sits North of Fair Verona and east of the beautiful Lake Garda...
Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grapes. A noble grape, its parents are Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. We first see mention of it in the 16th century in Burgundy. You can find it grown all over the globe. From its home in...
Prosecco. Those easy-going bubbles from Italy. There is a history here that goes back 2000 years. The wines of these steep lush green hills have evolved into the bubbling beverage that is easy to drink and has an unexpected depth of history. Join us as...
When I was studying to become a Certified Specialist of Wine, I used certain tricks to be able to remember different regions or appellations. When I tried to remember the Beaujolais Crus I used: St. Amour loved Julien, he gave her Chenas, and windmills and...
This wasn’t meant to be a post. It was supposed to be a quick dinner and a bottle of wine. We didn’t even really plan the pairing, we just knew it would be a white wine. I’ve been thinking about Bonny Doon and Randall Grahm...
Today we travel to Spain to the Priorat DOQ. This is a place with an ancient history that has only recently re-emerged as a formidable growing and wine making region. Catalonia (Catalunya or Cataluña) To begin, let’s get our bearings on the globe. We are...
It was sunset of our only full day in Mudgee New South Wales. We headed out to meet Col Millot, the Viticulturist at First Ridge Vineyard on the south east side of the Mudgee Valley. While viewing the sunset from their cellar door, we discussed...
Lambrusco & Butter Chicken Today’s Sun Basket dinner was an easy, “heat and eat” Butter Chicken and Jasmine Rice supper. I went to research pairings for Butter Chicken, and came across this great post by Madeline Puckett. On Madeline’s site, Wine Folly, there was a...
Not all things go as planned. We made chicken adobo, a dish from the Philipines, the day before and had planned to pair it with a Chardonnay. Chicken adobo is best enjoyed on the 2nd day, when the flavors have melded together. It’s a pretty...
The drought in Australia fueled the fires we saw the beginning of this year. We talked with David Lowe at Lowe Wine about the drought and about bio-dynamics, a subject you know we are very interested in. The drought in Australia David says that the...
The sun was out on this morning. We spent a bit of time in the backyard, planning our upcoming #travelinabottle trips, and letting Loki enjoy the great outdoors for a bit. I may have even taken on a bit of a pink tinge. It was...
A few days ago, I realized that World Malbec Day was upon us. I, of course, had just placed an order for wine to be shipped to me and had NOT included a Malbec. In desperation, while power shopping in my mask at the grocery...
Connections I’ve only been to France once. We were in Germany and during our week in Hamburg we took the train to Paris for a single day. Up early, we arrived at the Gard du Nord train station and made our way to Le Sacre...
Day 28 of #flatteningthecurve The day started early, the sun had returned and I woke early. After giving Loki some attention I made some coffee to Copeland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”. A friend had recommended making coffee to this music as being a wonderful...
Planning a last minute Easter Dinner So I’ve been planning pairings recently and on Easter Morning realized that I had not even thought of an Easter pairing. So…I dove in on a last minute #pantrypairing. Immediately I thought of gnocchi and got a craving. The... Read more posts
Zweigelt – Pink and Natty and so... July 3, 2020 
