Guazzetto Paired with Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio #ItalianFWT

It’s not everyday one gets to enjoy wine from Italy’s oldest winery, and this distinguished wine lives up to its considerable history and reputation.  This month the Italian Food, Wine and Travel (#ItalianFWT) group of bloggers is exploring Tuscany, including the Chianti region. About Chianti One of the things I love about the world of…

Wine of the Day: 2018 Acquiesce Bourboulenc

Acquiesce is  first winery in the U.S. to release  a varietal bottling of Bourboulenc.  It’s an enticing, dry, and zesty winner!   Bourboulenc (click here for pronunciation) is an ancient grape, first mentioned in literature in the early 16th century.  It has always been identified with the wine regions of Southern France including Languedoc, Provence and the Rhone Valley.   It…

Exploring Meatless Merlot Pairings for #MerlotMe #WinePW

If this annual exploration of Merlot’s food friendliness has taught me nothing else, it’s don’t underestimate Merlot at the table…its unpretentious, approachable fruit flavors, moderate tannin, sensual texture, balanced acidity, diversity of styles and  value make it more versatile at the table than Cabernet Sauvignon. October is International Merlot Month! Merlot Month unites passionate wine…

Mixiote de Pescado Paired With Domaine Petroni Corse Rosé #Winophiles

This wine offers tremendous QPR, and a minerality…uncommon at its price point…It paired beautifully with our meal! This month our  French Winophiles  blogging group takes a virtual trip to the “Scented Isle” of Corsica, which is also known as Corse. Corsica, a mountainous island covered in vineyard, is located in the Mediterranean Sea between the southeast…

Book Review: Root Cause by Steven Laine

The history of wine is full of triumph and tragedy.  Many of its triumphs have been happy accidents, including the discovery of wine itself, which is believed to have happened when early man gathered fruit, and stored it in containers of some sort.  The juice would have settled to the bottom of the container, fermented and…

A Match Made in Heaven; Jurançon Sec and Instant Pot Shrimp Boil #Winophiles

This month our  French Winophiles  blogging group takes a virtual trip to the lesser known  French side of the Basque region where the Pyrenees Mountains form the natural border between France and Spain. While the Spanish side is well-known (it has the highest per capita concentration of Michelin star restaurants in the world), the French offers a stark contrast of picturesque towns, and farms …

Wine of the Day: 2018 Birichino Cinsault Pétulant Naturel Bechthold Vineyard

This is a seriously fun Pét-nat that was a joy to drink! For the uninitiated, Pét-nat, or Méthode Ancestrale, is a method of sparkling wine production used all over the world. Unlike traditional-method sparkling wines, like Champagne, which add sugar and yeast to dry, still wine in order trigger a second fermentation and produce bubbles, pét-nat…