Surprisingly Affordable Wine Region: Bordeaux! #Winophiles
#Winophiles Need Affordable Wines Too Our August meeting of our French Winophiles group has us digging around for good, affordable French wines. Sure, some of the world’s most expensive wines come from France (I’m talking to you, Burgundy. And you, Bordeaux!), but there are also great values to be found if you know where to … Continue reading
Château du Moulin-à-Vent Through the Seasons
Château du Moulin-à-Vent Back in November last year, I was contacted by Morgane at Château du Moulin-à-Vent. He proposed sending some samples knowing my interest in food and wine pairings. We had just returned from a trip to Lyon, France where we had the opportunity to taste the versatility of Cru Beaujolais. As the unofficial … Continue reading
Natura Wines – Organically Grown, Fresh & Affordable
Natura Wines – Organic, Affordable, Delicious I received a set of Natura Wine samples this spring from the parent company, Banfi Vintners. Natura Wines come from Chile, and they represent a line of inexpensive wines made from hand harvested organic grapes. Affordable and hand harvested organic aren’t typically seen in the same sentence, so I … Continue reading
Exploring Madiran with Vignobles Brumont #Winophiles
Southwest France, Unknown in the US The wines of Southwest France are little known in the US. Deep in the shadows of Bordeaux (which geographically should be considered part of the region), the wines are difficult to find and even knowledgeable wine shop employees may not discern a difference between Sud-Ouest (Southwest) and Languedoc-Roussillon. The … Continue reading
Friday Night: Pizza and Trediberri Barbera d’Alba
Friday Night: Easy Pizza and a Nice Bottle of Wine When we make pizza at home, I usually make everything from scratch: dough, sauce, and a wide variety of toppings. It’s a bit of an all-day affair, not exactly easy to start at 6pm on Friday night. Unless you like pizza at midnight! This week, … Continue reading
Rosé Time 2017!
Welcome to Rosé Time! Spring has sprung, and the hot weather has arrived. In Minnesota, it always takes us a few extra weeks to be really sure the cold weather has gone for the season. Farmers markets have opened, the yard has greened up, and the mosquitoes are due any day now. That can only … Continue reading
Salmon and Morels with the Domaine Wines of Louis Max #Winophiles
French Winophiles Linger in Bourgogne Our winophiles group loves Burgundy (Bourgogne) so much, we decided we needed to spend two months exploring the region. Last month, we were in Chablis and the Northern part of the Côte d’Or: the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. The wines of these northern regions are real … Continue reading
Summer Wines With Memphis Style Slow Smoked Ribs #WinePW
Summertime and the Grillin’s Easy Our Wine Pairing Weekend assignment this month was a natural for the summer, the grill. Take a look at all the other enthusiastic grilling posts farther down on this page! My #WinePW buddies always have some great ideas to share. Truth be told, I grill year-round. However, in the summertime, … Continue reading
Wines of Navarra Paired with Grill Roasted Rabbit
Wines of Navarra Invade the US! Have you ever heard of the Navarra region of Spain? Me neither. The winemakers of Navarra have banded together to promote the region in the US, and I was given the opportunity to receive a full set of samples for review. I had a fun evening enjoying the wines … Continue reading
Gary Farrell Wines Paired with Rabbit and Green Olives
Taking Gary Farrell Wines for a Spin California is a warm place, with a beautiful Mediterranean climate, and fruit ripens without question. A vinous consequence of this warm climate is that wines can be very ripe and rich, which is appealing to many people. I find these wines just too rich to be enjoyable with … Continue reading















