If you’ve ever considered food and wine pairing principles, then you know the most tried, tested, and found true principle of food and wine pairing is “What grows together, goes together”. In other words, match the food and the wine of a place together. For example, pairing Italian food with Italian wines, or a pairing oysters with…
Author: Martin D. Redmond
Livermore Valley Winegrowers #BarrelsBottlesBrews
The last weekend in March, my wife and I attended Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association‘s Barrels, Bottles & Brews with a friend. Barrels, Bottles & Brews is a two-day event that offers amateurs and aficionados of beer, wine and spirits the opportunity to sample all three over the course of a couple of days for $45 (advanced)/$55…
A Walk On The Wild Side; 2012 Sandro Fay Costa Bassa and Pasta con Finocchietto Selvatico
My wife and I enjoy walking in our neighborhood. Over the course of the past few weeks, each time we walked past this particular empty lot not from where we live, our olfactory senses was overwhelmed by fresh herbal aromas that hinted of licorice. It looked like fennel to me. And that’s what it…
Under $30 Vintage Champagne? Oui! #Winophiles
This month the French Winophiles are exploring the Champagne region of France. I’ll be tasting and pairing an under $30 Vintage Champagne! The French #Winophiles are a group of wine writers and bloggers that love French wine. Each month we focus on an area or aspect of French wine. Topics include regions, routes, food, travel, history,…
No Reservations Wine Tasting: Iron Horse Vineyards
Iron Horse Vineyards, renowned for their sparkling wines, is one of Sonoma County’s most beautiful, home-grown, family-owned wineries dedicated to producing estate-bottled wine. My wife and I do more than our fair share of wine tasting. We’ve hit all the major wine regions in California (and a few minor ones too;-), along with some tasting…
Batting A Thousand for #OTBN Vol. 8 – A Celebration With Friends #winePW
Seven bottles of wine for seven people…Twas a splendid OTBN17! Of all the wine “holidays” (Cabernet Day, Chardonnay Day, etc), Open That Bottle Night (“OTBN”) is my favorite. That’s because it’s a great opportunity for fellowship around food and wine, and making memories with the special people in our lives. OTBN was created by former Wall Street Journal wine…
Wine Of The Day; 2013 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor
2013 Don Melchor – “It shows enticing cassis, black cherry, blackberry, vanilla and extra dark chocolate with espresso bean flavors”. Concha Y Toro’s Don Melchor vineyard is situated at an altitude of 2,145 feet, at the foot of the Andes Mountains on the northern bank of the Maipo River. It is part of the Puente Alto (“high…
Two Tastes of Sicily’s Autochthonous Grape – Nerello Mascalese! #ItalianFWT
This month, the Italian Food, Wine, and Travel Group (#ItalianFWT) is making a virtual return visit to Italy’s southernmost wine region, and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea – Sicily! I decided to focus on Nerello Mascalese (pronounced “nair-rello mask-ah-lay-zay” ), an autochthonous (a.k.a. indigenous; but I love the way it looks and sounds) grape variety most…
Sicily – So Nice, We’re Doing It Twice: The Preview #ItalianFWT
Join the Italian Food, Wine, and Travel Group (#ItalianFWT) on March 4th as we virtually return to Italy’s southernmost wine region, and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea – Sicily! We’ll be posting and chatting about our discoveries on Saturday March 4th, 2017. Italian Food Wine and Travel is a bloggers group that focuses monthly on…
Wine of the Day: 2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard
2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard – “The flavors are just as enchanting, if a bit feral, as the aromas showcasing boysenberry, black and red currant, olive, smoked meat and dark roasted nut flavors”… I must confess that when I purchased this wine, and I noted the vintage (almost 10 years old) and the…