-
Baptism by Grape
Baptism by the grape can truly be considered a religious experience to even the most unsuspecting wine drinker. When the palate is introduced to the right varietal at that pivotal moment, whether it was accompanied by a meal or not, the flavors hit all of the important sensory points and you just want to throw your hands in the air and shout “hallelujah!” Ok maybe it is not that dramatic but you get the picture.
-
Serving Temperature Can Affect Tasting Results
Wines rated 90 and above by Robert M. Parker, Jr., Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator’s Top 100 didn’t earn a medal. Wines rated much lower by the aforementioned sources were judged much higher by our competition judges. Serving temperature may have been a factor.
-
Leftover Wine Bottles on the Counter? Recycle; Reduce!
Our counters were cluttered. We had accumulated a number of bottles half-filled with wine that we either didn’t drink because we didn’t care for them, or we had wine left over from an event where there were too many wines to consume in one evening. So, what do you do with all that wine? Make a wine reduction! It’s pretty simple but takes a bit of time and attention, but here’s how you do it.
-
Crescent City Phoenix – The Return of New Orleans
Kelly moved back to New Orleans. During our dinner she beamed about the city where she grew up, and the city where she has returned to help restore. A city that is authentic, historical and focused on tourism. She touched a nerve when she talked about so many people who have said they feel guilty about vacationing in a city that suffered so much.
-
Day Two: Window on New Orleans Past and Present
We disembarked for a private tour of Antoine’s Restaurant. Opened in 1840, Antoine’s is the oldest in New Orleans and oldest family-run restaurant in the country. It has 15 different dining rooms, with a variety of old photos and artifacts from Mardi Gras royalty. It continued to serve wine and booze during Prohibition, we’re told, by using a bit of hallway which was part of the “ladies room” to allow the men to pass through a secret door.
-
Qué Syrah and Pinot Noir! Olson Ogden Wines
This beautiful small lot Syrah is opaque, an inky purple with gorgeous ripe fruit. Blueberries, blackberries and rich baking spices on the nose, reminded Joe of a succulent pie. Once in the mouth, we tasted more of the blackberry and blueberry flavors, brown sugar and cloves, with a nice toasty oak on a finish that ended in gobs of fruit, spice, vanilla and velvety tannins.
-
In defense of decadence
-
Wine Tasting Clubs: Solving the Mystery One Glass at a Time
I had heard my husband talk about Iris for weeks during his ISG studies but didn’t meet her until the class got together for a holiday party last December. Many of the students had obtained part-time pouring gigs at local Houston wine bars. But we found ourselves at Iris’ tastings most often—because she was pouring on weekends and her bubbly personality is just so hard to resist.
-
Mama’s got a Fusebox…
We got down to the business of blending. Since I’d won a couple previous contests, I think Joe’s plan was to do all the blending himself. He doesn’t remember it this way, but I swear he created FIVE blends before I ever got a chance to put a pipette into any wine.
-
Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery added to Boycott
I first heard about Foley from “twitter.” In the course of talking wine with winebloggers and other ne’er do wells, I met a blogger by the name of WineDog who “tweeted” something about a boycott of Foley wines. WineDog’s blog, Pink Bunny Ears, has a number of posts about Foley. The latest 2-spread Foley feature in Wine Spectator set the WineDog off.