Rosé Season!
Summer = Rosé Have you stocked up on Rosé for the summer? Have you had a traditional (dry) Rosé? If you thought Rosé was a sweet wine for beginners, please go find a bottle of real Rosé to sample. You’ll be hooked! What is Rosé? With white wines the juice is pressed off the grapes … Read more
Port 101 in Porto, Portugal
The moral of this story: Don’t taste 40 year Tawny Port! All lesser ports will be nice, but you’ll forever be thinking about the 40. You have been warned! I just finished a two week European trip for my real job: 14 days, 8 flights, 7 cities – whew! Luckily, I did get a couple … Read more
Rosé, Kitchen in the Market, Solo Vino: What’s not to Love?
Julie and I are big Rosé fans, so we don’t really need to be convinced. However, when Kitchen in the Market teamed up with Chuck Kanski (of Solo Vino) the Twin Cities evangelist for Rosé, we couldn’t resist! What followed was a night full of laughter, fun, Rosé and tasty food pairings. Here’s a sample … Read more
A Nice Budget Mourvèdre
You might like to try a Mourvèdre, but you say you don’t have $50 burning a hole in your pocket? How about $15? I wanted to see if I could find a Mourvèdre (French or American) that is widely available and less than $20. I haven’t found a French one yet, but the Cline Cellars … Read more
More Mourvèdre Please
Say that three times fast! We usually try to match the wine with the food pretty carefully, but sometimes “Eat what you like with what you like to drink” is what happens. On this particular Sunday afternoon, I was knee-deep in my Mourvèdre investigation, and we decided we wanted to try a couple of recipes … Read more
Idiot’s Grace Vineyard Walk
Last week (May 15), I had the opportunity to take a walk in the Idiot’s Grace Vineyard in Mosier, OR. Memaloose Wines has two properties: Mistral Ranch and Idiot’s Grace. All their wines come from one of these two estate vineyards, both located in the tiny Columbia Gorge AVA. I love the opportunity to see … Read more
#ChardonnayDay
We interrupt our Mourvedre investigation for Chardonnay Day. Who decides these things? May 23 is officially “ChardonnayDay”. We’re encouraged to open a Chardonnay and share our experience. These twitter celebrations are kind of goofy, but they are kind of fun, too! We got a late start this evening, this is our Chardonnay Day choice. A … Read more
Mourvèdre: Unpronounceable
So you want to buy some Mourvèdre, but how in the world do you pronounce it? “Move Over Dear?” You’re in luck, just click here. It’s kind of fun! Of course, the French ones will be Bandol, which is easier but less fun to pronounce. Today we’re trying another Bandol classic with an American Mourvèdre … Read more
What’s Mourvèdre?
The Mourvèdre grape is widely used as one of the blending grapes in Southern Rhone wines such as Côtes du Rhone and Châteauneuf du Pape; wines we enjoy. To get a sense of Mourvèdre at center stage however, we need to look beyond the Rhone. Bandol is a town in Provence and its red wines must … Read more
Meatless Monday Chili & FoodBeerClick?
True Confession Honesty is the best policy: drink beer with your chili. When I set out on this Meatless Monday, I knew I wanted to try a chili. I modified the recipe to use wine for the liquid instead of beer. I kept the spices on the tame side. I tried a lean red low … Read more
My photos on foodgawker
