How To Sensibly Pair Food and Wine

It’s my pleasure to share this post of mine recently published by 12most. 12 Most Practical Guidelines for Wine and Food Pairing Pairing wine and food has been around a long time. For individuals who’ve grown up in homes where wine is a daily part of life, wine and food pairing can come pretty naturally because…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…2005 Iron Horse Vineyard Russian Cuvée

This week it’s another  sparkler is from Iron Horse Vineyards in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma.  It’s one of four Sonoma sparkling wine houses (the others being J, Korbel and Gloria Ferrer) in Sonoma County. They are a family owned winery founded by Audrey and Barry Sterling.  Iron Horse produces a variety of vintage sparkling wines along with still wines (Pinot…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…Elyssia Pinot Noir Brut Cava

Elyssia is separate label produced by Freixenet (pronounced ‘fresh-eh-NET) one of the largest producers of sparkling wine in the world.  You may know Freixenet from their ubiquitous black Cordon Negro Cava, which is the #1 imported sparkling wine in the world. This Cava is different in that none of the grapes used in the traditional…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like….NV Gruet Brut Blanc de Noirs

This week’s sparkler is produced by Gruet Winery, which is based in New Mexico.  New Mexico isn’t exactly top of wine when it comes to wine, much less sparkling wines, but Gruet’s lineup of non-vintage wines are very compelling as value plays.  They produce vintage, and non-vintage sparkling wine, along with still wines. Gruet was…

Everything You Need To Know To Enjoy Sparkling Holidays!

More than any other time of year, the holiday season is the time for bubbly.   The challenge is the terminology around sparkling wine can be confusing.  For example, and bubbly labeled “Extra Dry” is actually sweeter than one labeled “Brut”, which is the standard for dryness in sparkling wine.  And since retailers are heavily…

Along The Napa Sparkling Wine Trail – Mumm Napa

Mumm Napa is one of five sparkling wine producers in the Napa Valley and Carneros, that aside from Mumm, includes Gloria Ferrer, Domaine Carneros, Chandon,  and Schramsberg.  The five compose the Sparkling Wine Trail.  Each has its own charm, and they all have wonderful sparkling wines.  I’ve previously visited Gloria Ferrer (wonderful Chateau in beautiful Carneros), Chandon…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…NV Roederer Estate Brut

This week’s sparkler is produced by Roederer Estate, owned by Louis Roederer Champagne, which is renowned for producing the luxury Champagne Cristal.  The California operation is located in Anderson Valley, north of the Napa Valley.  My last visit to Anderson Valley was a few years ago.  I really enjoyed it.  It doesn’t have cachet of Napa, or…