Idiot’s Grace: Explorers in the Columbia Gorge AVA #WinePW

Wine Pairing Weekend Group Goes Under the Radar This month, our Wine Pairing Weekend blogging group members are highlighting wine regions which are overlooked, the Cinderellas of the wine world. Come along and look under the radar with us, you might find something new! Scroll to the bottom of this post to find links to … Continue reading

VinGardeValise Piccolo Review

VinGardeValise Piccolo VinGardeValise makes a line of wine suitcases designed to safely carry between 5 and 12 bottles of wine in checked luggage. As a traveling wine enthusiast, I’m always looking for a way to bring wine back with me from wine country visits. Today I’m reviewing the smallest member of the VinGardeValise family, the … Continue reading

Review: The New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia

Disclosure: I received a sample copy of this book with a request for a review. All opinions expressed are mine. A Reference for Every Wine Lover Sotheby’s has just published an updated version of The New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, last published in 2011. In true encyclopedia form, there is something for everyone in this massive … Continue reading

Red Wine with Fish? Yes! Duckhorn Merlot and Swordfish #MerlotMe

Red Wine with Fish? Believe It! Not every red wine and not every fish.  I would avoid a tannic Cabernet with a delicate poached white fish recipe, but big oceangoing fish are delicious with many red wines. Swordfish is almost always sold as steaks, and it is delicious cooked on the grill.  Add a little … Continue reading

Merlot and the Pot Roast Two-Step #MerlotMe

Joyce’s Pot Roast Two-StepJoyce, my mother-in-law, was staying with us early in the Pandemic . We had fun making a couple of videos of her tried and true pot roast technique. First, for the pot roast itself, then using the leftovers for pot roast soup.  Joyce firmly believes the real reason to make pot roast … Continue reading

Try Merlot as Your Pizza Wine #MerlotMe

What’s Your Go-To Pizza Wine? Do you have a favorite pizza wine, something you always reach for?  If it’s a typical red-sauce type pizza I usually grab something Italian: Barbera d’Asti, Langhe Nebbiolo, Chianti Classico.  October means #MerlotMe though, so I decided to take some Merlot samples with us up to the lake. We nearly … Continue reading

A Tale of Two Merlots at the Grill #MerlotMe #WinePW

Wine Pairing Weekend and MerlotMe Our Wine Pairing Weekend group has had fun singing the praises of Merlot for the last 5 years, and we’re excited to continue the tradition in 2020. I’m not sure Merlot ever went away, though it certainly stepped out of the spotlight. Fortunately, the producers who loved the grape and … Continue reading

Are Local Grapes the Future of Moldovan Wines? #WorldWineTravel

World Wine Travel Group Inaugural Virtual Visit to Moldova Our three collaborative blogging groups are expanding into one more area: World Wine Travel. This Moldova Wine Day event is a preview of things to come, as our group formally starts up in 2021. Follow us at the new hashtag #WorldWineTravel! Today, we travel virtually to … Continue reading

#MerlotMe 6 with the Wine Pairing Weekend Crew! #WinePW

Six Years Celebrating Merlot! Wow, our Wine Pairing Weekend group has partnered for six years with Merlot producers to celebrate this delicious grape.  Have we tried every possible food pairing? Tried our hands at a #SixWordLoveStory for Merlot? I can’t wait to see what our group cooks up this year! We officially celebrate on the … Continue reading

Willamette Valley – iOTA Cellars

Willamette Valley Sub-AVA Tour Continues We’re nearly done with our tour of the sub-AVA’s of the Willamette Valley AVA. Today we visit the Eola – Amity Hills AVA through our friends at iOTA Cellars. (click on any of the maps to see full size in a slide show) Eola-Amity Hills AVA Traveling due south from … Continue reading