Sniff, Swirl, Sip, Spit, Repeat; A First Timer’s Bordeaux En Primeur
Millesima Blog Awards 2017 – En Primeur Week in Bordeaux Thanks to all you dear readers who voted, I recently went on a wine enthusiast’s dream trip: a week in Bordeaux during En Primeur. What’s En Primeur? It’s the yearly event wherein buyers and wine writers from all over the world converge on Bordeaux for … Continue reading
Loire Valley Wines Take the Spicy Thai Challenge #Winophiles
#Winophiles Go All Cross-Cultural “What grows together goes together”. This time-honored advice for wine and food pairing is one we often follow in our regional explorations with our #Winophiles group. What about all those great dishes from other parts of the world? Especially the ones without wine grapes growing nearby, or even without a wine … Continue reading
Preparing for Bordeaux #MillesimaBA2017
Preparing for 2016 En Primeur Week in Bordeaux The big week is coming up! Thanks to all of your votes, I’m going to the 2016 Bordeaux En Primeur Week as a guest of Millesima, along with 5 other talented bloggers from the US and Europe. Of course, before any trip, you prepare. I thought I … Continue reading
Cork Dork: Will the Real Bianca Bosker Please Step Forward?
Punch Out and Be a Sommelier Many a wine enthusiast has the occasional Walter Mitty-esque dream of punching out of his/her daily occupation to become a sommelier. To be surrounded by wine, sharing the great stories with customers, hob-nobbing with winemakers. Ahh, the life! Well, Bianca Bosker did just that in her new book: “Cork … Continue reading
French Wine 101 – Loire Valley Wines
Wine 101 Series This is one of a series of posts aimed at newcomers to wine with interest but a modest checkbook. Previous Posts Bordeaux, Burgundy & Rhone Affordable Bubbles- Crémant & More Languedoc-Roussillon and Alsace A Few Simple Rules Just the facts, no flowery language Key types of wine from a region Some help in navigating … Continue reading
Everyday Celebration with Champagne and Curried Shrimp Salad #Winophiles
The Winophiles Are Always Happy for Champagne Is it possible to have too much Champagne? The #Winophiles say NO! We’re always happy to dive into that fabled region. This month we’re coming back to celebrate the region, the wines, and the foods to enjoy with Champagne. Take a look farther down in this post for … Continue reading
A Lesson in Wine Costs: Alit Pinot Noir
Wine Cost Transparency – Should You Care? Have you ever wondered about the costs going into that bottle of wine you’re enjoying? How much of the bottle price was the grapes? How does a $5 wine differ from a $50 wine in terms of actual costs? The cost of the grapes really does matter, in … Continue reading
15 Minutes of Fame in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
15 Minutes of Fame for Twin Cities Wine Bloggers What an honor to be featured with several other Twin Cities wine bloggers today in an article in our hometown Star-Tribune newspaper! Here’s the article with a huge thanks to Bill Ward, our friend and intrepid wine feature reporter. 4 Twin Cities wine experts help you … Continue reading
Chateau Montelena Classic Napa Cabernet
Old World Approach + Napa Sun My palate leans decidedly to the old world. I’m more impressed by elegance than overwhelming power and richness, so I’m pretty choosy about Napa Valley wines. Chateau Montelena fits the bill perfectly. Chateau Montelena – A Bit of Napa History Chateau Montelena traces their history back to at least … Continue reading
Sicilian Fun with Frappato, Grillo, Swordfish and Artichokes #ItalianFWT
A Virtual Return to Sicily Our Italian Food Wine & Travel group has visited (virtually) Sicily a couple of times. This month, we’re returning with another open invitation to further explore Sicily from afar. I’m fascinated with everything related to Mount Etna, but there’s much more to explore than that one corner of this large … Continue reading
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