Balletto Vineyards: Under the Radar in Russian River Valley
How Do You Hide 600 Acres? The Balletto family has a long history of farming in Sonoma County. They started out as vegetable growers and increased their land holdings over time to 600 acres. As farming economics changed, it grew harder to make a living growing vegetables, but growing wine grapes could still be a … Continue reading
Foie Gras & Steak for a Right Bank Bordeaux – French #Winophiles
French #Winophiles Continue to Explore Bordeaux Our French #Winophiles group is in the middle of a 3 month extended virtual tour through Bordeaux (links to all the other posts are further down this page). Last month, we started on the Left Bank. This month, we jump over to the Right Bank, to explore similarities and … Continue reading
Rosato: A Rosé by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet #ItalianFWT
#ItalianFWT Relaxes in the Shade with a Cool Glass of Rosato With all due apologies to Romeo, Juliet and William Shakespeare, Rosato is the Italian name for Rosé. True to Mr. Shakespeare, however, you might also see a pink Italian wine with a name of Cerasuolo or Chiaretto, as all are what we call a … Continue reading
Celebrate Albariño Day with spicy Shrimp & Clam Pasta
Albariño Day/Week Grape Celebration days have become a popular way to promote wines from a region or from a common grape around the world. They can be a bit confusing, as sometimes the day/date seems to be a bit vague. Some, like #AlbariñoDay are placed perfectly in the calendar. August is prime time for seafood … Continue reading
Three Different Shades of Ribera del Duero – Ferratus Winery
Ferratus winery in Ribera del Duero Early this summer I received an offer to evaluate wines from Ferratus in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. Its a region I’m interested in exploring, so I jumped at the chance, and a few days later, three different wines arrived in the mail. All are the same … Continue reading
A Sherry Pairing Mnemonic #WinePW
Wine Pairing Weekend Sherry Exploration Our Wine Pairing Weekend group is exploring sherry wine pairing this month. Some of our group are sherry lovers, but for many, sherry is either new, different, or just not liked. I’m in the “starting to understand, maybe, possibly coming into the sherry lovers camp”. But I still have a … Continue reading
Orange Duck, Orange Wine #ItalianFWT
Italian Food, Wine & Travel Group Goes Orange Having finished our region-by-region tour, our #ItalianFWT group is working on new, different ways to explore Italy. Join us this month as we experiment with skin-fermented white wines from all over Italy! Further down in the post you can see what all my Italophile buddies have dreamed … Continue reading
#ItalianFWT Searches Italy for Orange Wines!
Italian Food, Wine and Travel Takes a Second Lap Around Italy Wow, our Italian Food, Wine and Travel blogging group (#ItalianFWT on Twitter) has completed our first lap around Italy. Did you know that every one of Italy’s twenty regions produces wine? Our group has explored each region firsthand and we’re all excited to continue, … Continue reading
The Red-Headed Stepchild of Sancerre #winophiles
The End of the Road for the French Winophiles Loire Valley Tour All good things must come to an end, but what a finish! Our virtual tour of the Loire Valley has taken us inland all the way to the towns of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. The climate here is fully continental, with no moderating influence … Continue reading
Paris Oyster
Paris Oyster Julie’s cousin, Kay, an American who married a (wonderful) French Banker has explained French Culture to us as an iceberg: 10% visible, 90% invisible, as we are learning, so true. Your first step to understanding French culture can be gained by a delicious visit to a tiny restaurant in Paris. Now, let’s visit … Continue reading
