Two Shepherds Grenache Gris

A Well Stocked Refrigerator or Two

Elevate Your Monday Evening Even on a night when you’re rooting around the refrigerator and freezer for something to put together for dinner, a properly stocked wine refrigerator can elevate the meal. A variety of sparkling, white and rosé wines allow a great pairing with almost anything you can put together!

Portugese red wines and barbecue pork ribs

Exploring Portuguese Dry Red Wines with Pork Ribs

Portugal is More Than Just Port If you’re like me, your knowledge of Portuguese wines includes Vinho Verde and Port, but little else. Based on my enthusiasm for Port, the folks at Wines of Portugal decided I needed to see a few more wines from their country, and they sent me a couple of bottles … Continue reading

Bordeaux en primeur tasting

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 paired with spicy Thai green curry

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

A variety of bordeaux wines

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 by Bianca Bosker

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

Chinon is a beautiful Loire Valley red wine

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

Champagne Copinet Marie paired with Curried Shrimp Salad

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

Alit Pinot Noir represents a new concept in wine sales

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