wine in the news
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Classic Food and Wine Pairings: Sauvignon Blanc + Goat Cheese
For years, I have been aware of several classic food and wine parings and have used them to my advantage on many occasions ("we have to open this syrah — we're eating lamb!"). I have also had some terrific experiences with amazing food and wine pairings in the past. This is something that restaurants can do very well, but at home, most great pairings were almost accidental — the result of a very successful guess or stroke of luck as opposed to premeditation and comprehensive knowledge. So I set out to my favorite wine shop to talk shop (well, wine) with the experts.
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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
Boutique Wine Brand Delivers Charm & Appeal from its Nook on Spring Mountain — Spotlight on Guilliams Vineyards —
Shawn Guilliams is the exactly the type of woman any urban-dwelling 30-something would want to have as a 'cool aunt' — whether because she can easily kick back with you like a buddy, yet on occasion offer pearls of mature sagacity that come from her experience as a mother; or because she can spend the better part of her time tucked away in the secluded recesses of her hillside hideaway overlooking the Napa valley, yet enthusiastically break out of its provinciality to pop into the city bustle when the situation calls for it; or still because she's completely devoid of the pomp and pretense that seem to run rampant among many of the valley's other wine industry notables. Regardless of the reason, she is without doubt an effervescent and engaging personality who makes up half of the team that is Guilliams Vineyards. Her husband, John — a talented renaissance man with a penchant for designing and building his own homes — sustainably farms their 7 acre vineyard along the steep slopes of their hillside property on Napa's Spring Mountain, a district with an elevation of 2,000 ft. It was here that I spent an afternoon with my partner Bill, sitting down to lunch with Shawn, to learn about what life is like for a micro-producer of premium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
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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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Napa Trailblazer Continues to Reshape New Identity with Mountain Cabernets — An Interview with the Winemaker of Atlas Peak Winery —
Throughout the 1990s, Atlas Peak Winery built and enjoyed renown in the marketplace for the Sangiovese varietal wine it produced from the elevation after which it was named. But with the new Millennium came broad changes to Napa's wine industry, not the least of which was an upsurge in the production of super-premium Cabernet Sauvignon. This, combined with the vision of new ownership that recognized the producer's untapped potential, led to the reevaluation and overhaul of its entire marketing thrust in an effort to shift the focus and increase the quality of its production. Nearly seven years since Atlas Peak's rebirth as a brand has seen the crafting of a portfolio featuring Cabernet grown in each of Napa Valley's elevated sub-appellations: Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain, and of course, Atlas Peak itself. After having sampled his wines at the California Cabernet Society annual tasting event, I met with winemaker Darren Procsal, along with PR Director Tony Lombardi, to learn more of the winery's new mission "to create wines that showcase their lofty origins."
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wine in the news
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