wine in the news
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Classic Food and Wine Pairings: Pinot Noir + Duck Breast
I love duck. It has long been one of my very favorite things. I love duck breast cooked just under medium with a nice crisp layer on that wonderful fat. I love duck confit, duck stock, Chinese duck and scallion pancakes, and duck skin cracklins — it's all fantastic! And while I'm professing love for things, how about pinot noir: I love the sweet and musty Carneros pinots, I love the amazing pinots coming from Oregon (I went to Willamette a few years back), and I have had my share of amazing earthy burgundy as well. Though I don't consider myself a wine expert, I know enough to know how little I know, and this makes me eager to learn and appreciate. So when I embarked on this exploration of classic food and wine pairings, I jumped on the duck and Pinot Noir idea and never looked back.
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New Food and Wine Pairings: Vegetarian Fare
Early in my journey of discovering wine, I single-handedly (and perhaps somewhat arrogantly) concluded that it was impossible for a vegetarian to fully appreciate wine as a meat-eater could. I felt that there was no way for someone who abstained from animal fat to enjoy the rich and powerful red wines I had come to love and establish in my mind, naïvely, as the point of reference for wine in general. But that was then; my perspective is more nuanced now, as a result of having learned a great deal through tasting and formal study. And although I still don't believe a vegetarian can fully appreciate the synergy of a full-bodied red wine well-matched with food, I do acknowledge the plethora of wines that actually beautifully complement vegetable or grain dishes. But there's a catch to pairing vegetarian food.
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New Food and Wine Pairings: Sweet Wines + Chocolate
I'm a person of strong opinions, which I frequently take pleasure in expressing. But when it comes to wine, I try to exercise caution with that tendency, because I feel that the appreciation and enjoyment of wine is a very personal experience that should only be sparingly pre-empted or tainted by 'expert' advice. However, very much like art and design, even among variations of tastes, styles, and approaches, there are still some universal, often fundamental, 'rules,' if you will, about which elements work together and which ones frankly do not. Red Wine and Chocolate do not work together.
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Recent Reviews+Interviews
Founding Owner of Napa's Oakville East Promotes a New Sub-Appellation — An Interview with Proprietor Elliot Stern —
The American consumer is one who heavily identifies with brands. And while super-premium wine is an agricultural product whose quality is heavily predicated on the geographical origin of its grapes, branding is nevertheless front and center in the sales strategies of most produced in this country. Yet where does the concept of terroir, or place, fit into this? Very often, producers make this secondary to the marketing of their brands. The founder of one recent venture in California, however, has taken the step not only of articulating the identity inherent in the eastern hillside of Napa Valley's Oakville — essentially sub-appellating it — but, perhaps more significantly, choosing to use its micro-terroir as the very inspiration for a brand name. I spoke with Elliot Stern about what led to the inception of his Cabernet co-op, Oakville East, and what choices went into the production of its first wine, Exposure.
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Napa Producer Gracefully Weathers the Changing Tides of Merlot's Market Popularity — An Interview with the Winemaker of Swanson Vineyards —
From its vantage point at the very center of the Napa Valley, Swanson Vineyards has laid witness to considerable change in the region's wine industry over the last two and a half decades of its own quality-driven wine production. Having first established its reputation during the heydey of California Merlot, a grape variety that has long since fallen out of favor, the brand has recently experienced some challenges in maintaining its market viability on the shifting landscape of New World wines. Now in its sixth year with long-time Napa veteran Chris Phelps at the helm of its cellar operations, the winery is looking to revitalize consumer awareness of a wine portfolio he has since imbued with greater balance and flair. I spent an afternoon with the winemaker, dividing our time between the buzz of his rustic operation in Oakville and the repose of an upscale restaurant in Yountville. He spoke candidly of how the last twenty-five years have seen considerable evolution in his own winemaking, significant changes to the business in Napa, and ultimately, unwavering grace in how the Swanson wine brand has handled the pendulum swing of Merlot's popularity in the marketplace.
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A Dream Solidifies into the Wine Caves of VinRoc, atop Napa's Atlas Peak
Between the rocky soil of its hillside vineyard and the granite encountered during the excavation of its wine cave, VinRoc has had a solid theme of rock running through its story. I had initially met its proprietors, Kiky and Michael Parmenter, during the annual Family Winemakers tasting event, whereupon I sampled wines from their small but super-premium portfolio. Months later, I sat down with Michael to learn more about the handcrafting of VinRoc's robust and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the building of its rather unique wine facility. What I gathered turned out to be an inspiring story about the seemingly effortless evolution of a mountaintop brand and its ambitious drive towards quality.
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wine in the news
Please make the Cache directory writable.
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