Willamette Valley – Beacon Hill Winery & Vineyard
Willamette Valley Wines – Sub AVA Tour – Soil As we virtually tour the sub AVA’s of Willamette Valley, we’re finding that each of the AVAs shows a unique character. One of the variables is the soil common in that AVA, there being 3 main types in the Willamette Valley: volcanic, marine sedimentary, and windblown. … Continue reading
Willamettte Valley Wines – Sokol Blosser
Willamette Valley Wines – Sub-AVA tour As we drive around the Willamette Valley (virtually) we see the rich soil of the valley floor is great for lots of agriculture, but not grapes. Grapes grow best on the hillsides in poor soil. We start to see the smaller AVA’s defined by a minimum altitude contour line. … Continue reading
Willamette Valley Wines – Carabella
Willamette Valley Wines Tour – Kickoff We’re starting our Willamette Valley virtual tour by trying some moderately priced ($30-45 generally) estate wines from different sub-AVA’s within Willamette Valley. For this first look, we’ll concentrate mostly on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. First up: Chehalem Mountains AVA and Carabella. (click on any image to see in a … Continue reading
Banyuls Pet-Nat with Treats à La Buvette #Winophiles
French Winophiles Detectives Search for Roussillon Our French Winophiles group had a fun assignment this month: Search out a white wine from Roussillon. We’re well familiar with the larger Languedoc-Roussillon region and it seemed easy at first. We found out that white wines from Roussillon are not so easy to find in the US! However, … Continue reading
Cabin Pairings for Moldovan Wines #WinePW
Wine Pairing Weekend Meets Wines of Moldova July brings our Wine Pairing Weekend blogging group to a virtual trip to Moldova, a small country in Eastern Europe. Moldova is working to raise awareness of the country as a wine region and a wine tourism destination. After attending a press trip to Moldova last summer, I … Continue reading
Moldova Wine & Food – Here’s Your Invitation! #WinePW
Moldova Food & Wine Pairings – Traditional and Creative August 2019 I had the pleasure of being included on the first press trip sponsored by the Wine of Moldova. After the trip I approached my contacts in the organization to gauge their interest in collaborating with our Wine Pairing Weekend group of bloggers, and here … Continue reading
Porc au Pruneaux with Chateau Niagara
Wine Social Media Connections I’ve not met Jim Baker in person, though our paths have crossed on many occasions in wine social media. Jim noticed that one of my interests is under-the-radar wineries and individuals who courageously go their own way. Jim offered to send me a couple bottles of Chateau Niagara wines to … Continue reading
At the Grill with Fire and Wine
A Grill Book for Novice and Expert Alike My friends Mary Cressler and Sean Martin have just published a new cookbook right up my alley, and maybe yours, too. If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know I’m a big fan of the grill, cooking outdoors year-round in Minnesota. Mary and Sean share my love … Continue reading
Cru Beaujolais at the Grill #Winophiles
French Winophiles Celebrate Cru Beaujolais This month, our French Winophiles group is diving into the ten Crus of Beaujolais. Many people only know Beaujolais Nouveau, the brand new baby wine rushed to market as a celebration of the just concluded vintage. It’s fun, but it isn’t intended to be a reflection of what’s possible from … Continue reading
Wine 201: Orange Wine Primer with Food Pairings to Try #WinePW
Wine Pairing Weekend Group Tackles Foods with Orange Wine April showers bring May orange wines? Put simply, orange wines are white wines fermented in contact with their skins. Our Wine Pairing Weekend group is tackling orange wines this month, crafting some great ideas for food pairings with this genre of wines which many are discovering. … Continue reading
