To depart from the multiple posts you’ll find on which wines to pair with your Labor Day celebration (Burgers and Syrah, chicken and Chardonnay, grilled seafood and Torrontés, and if you haven’t been hit by the recession: steak and Cabernet Sauvignon or grilled lamb and Bordeaux) I thought we’d talk about “the true meaning of Labor Day.”
Continue readingThe Local Food Movement
Where there’s smoke…There’s Tailgating!
At the time, Joe lived in Ohio. And Texas has nothing Ohio when it comes to football fans, rivalries and tailgating. In fact, before I met Joe I had only been to “catered” tailgate parties. But for Joe — tailgating for the University of Toledo Rockets Football games was a religion, and we became master tailgaters! It seemed that our tailgate spreads became something of a legend, because it seemed every week it had to be bigger and better.
Continue readingWine Competitions: It Won a Medal – It Must be Good!
A research study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Wine Economics found an interesting aspect of wine competitions that might be disturbing to our the aforementioned winemaker as well as to consumers who choose their purchases based on medals and ribbons: A gold medal in one competition does not mean a gold medal in another. In fact is may not even mean it’s good!
Continue readingCorkage Fees – What are they?
Project Y-ine on Texas: Part II, The Texas Beer Scene
hey came. They saw. They conquered. The ladies of Project-Yine have taken on Texas, and lived to tell about it. We thought we’d let them tell it in their own words. So, without further ado, here Shana and Ashley give us their take on Texas, and the Texas Beer Scene …
Continue readingAnother Wine Byte 15: France’s Red-headed Stepchild
Back in the day before people knew about genetics and recessive traits, it was assumed that a redheaded child born to a couple of brunettes was obviously the product of an affair. And while the father would claim the child as his own, to save face, he tended to treat the child poorly, thinking certainly it was not his own. This grape was treated with similar scorn.
Continue readingIt’s a Small World After All…
If we got in our car and drove to just halfway through the metropolitan area, it would take about an hour in normal Saturday traffic. And we visit wine bars everywhere in between. You’d think in all that space you wouldn’t see so many people you know, but folks in the wine business all seem pretty connected. One of the first few times we visited Chelsea Wine Bar in El Lago, we met Emelie. Emelie’s a bubbly blond who can find exactly what you’re looking to taste, even when you don’t know what that is.
Continue readingNote to Wineries: Such a Small Thing to Ask
Recently we received an e-mail asking if we wanted to participate in a particular date-certain event. I responded that we did, provided a shipping address, and issued the standard request for tracking number. The event came and went. I assumed that the sponsor had decided not to ship us wine to participate in the event. We stopped by our receiving service to pick up a care package for Project Y-ine, and discovered two other shipments of which we were unaware. One was for the on-line event. And we were picking it up two weeks after the event had concluded.
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