#ChardonnayDay

We interrupt our Mourvedre investigation for Chardonnay Day.  Who decides these things?  May 23 is officially “ChardonnayDay”. We’re encouraged to open a Chardonnay and share our experience.  These twitter celebrations are kind of goofy, but they are kind of fun, too! We got a late start this evening, this is our Chardonnay Day choice.  A … Continue reading

Mourvèdre: Unpronounceable

So you want to buy some Mourvèdre, but how in the world do you pronounce it? “Move Over Dear?”  You’re in luck, just click here.  It’s kind of fun!  Of course, the French ones will be Bandol, which is easier but less fun to pronounce. Today we’re trying another Bandol classic with an American Mourvèdre … Continue reading

What’s Mourvèdre?

The Mourvèdre grape is widely used as one of the blending grapes in Southern Rhone wines such as Côtes du Rhone and Châteauneuf du Pape; wines we enjoy.  To get a sense of Mourvèdre at center stage however, we need to look beyond the Rhone. Bandol is a town in Provence and its red wines must … Continue reading

Meatless Monday Chili & FoodBeerClick?

True Confession Honesty is the best policy: drink beer with your chili. When I set out on this Meatless Monday, I knew I wanted to try a chili.  I modified the recipe to use wine for the liquid instead of beer.  I kept the spices on the tame side. I tried a lean red low … Continue reading

Whatever’s in the ‘Fridge Flatbread

We love flatbreads and pizza for weekend lunches.  Sometimes we have a plan and sometimes we just root around in the refrigerator and see what we have.  You might like trying your own version with whatever you have in your ‘fridge.  Flatbreads seem to taste great with a wide variety of wines, we usually just … Continue reading

Tweet Your Recipe

Tweet Your Recipe Imagine squeezing a recipe with local ingredients into a single 140 character tweet.  Recently, Rick Bakas challenged his readers to tweet food pairing submissions in a competition featuring a different Washington State wine every day.  Sponsored by @2DaysinSeattle, the wine assignment for Wednesday was Andrew Will Sorella 2004, a bordeaux style blend … Continue reading

CSAWineClick!

Are you a CSA (community supported agriculture) member?  We’re trying our first CSA cropshare this summer, so we’ll have lots of opportunities to try pairing wines with a wider variety of vegetables than usual. Bossy Acres Bossy Acres is the name of the farm; Karla and Elizabeth together are the Bossy Chicks (aka the farmers).  … Continue reading

Kielbasi, Sauerkraut & Two Cab Francs

When learning a new grape, I try to get examples from both the classic “old world” and the “new world”.  I don’t expect them to be identical, but I enjoy comparing the two for similarities and differences.  Pairing with food can be a bit of a guess until I have more experience with the grape.  … Continue reading

Under $20 Bourgogne Rouge

After the virtual Burgundy tour, I started to wonder how inexpensive Bourgogne Rouge would stack up to the Village wines we tried.  In addition, many wine drinkers just don’t have the $$ or interest to spend $50 on a bottle of wine.  I decided to gather up a few under $20 examples (on sale) to … Continue reading

Burgundy Conclusions

Burgundy wines can easily be a lifelong investigation.  Our virtual tour was only an introduction, but it sure was fun!  Tasting a variety of wines gave us a sense of what to expect from the region, and showed us a variety of villages, vintages, and producers.  Future installments may explore each of these variables in … Continue reading