Exploring the menu of life.
I have a new wine crush. Gorgeous, gabby and quite gifted, Gruner Veltliner (pronounced “GROO ner VELT leaner”) is a tall, cool Austrian pour with plenty of perk and personality. This erstwhile known as “ski country” region devotes 1/3 of its grape crop to making this white varietal, and Gruner ... Read More »
Halloween is my third favorite holiday, after Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s not the candy (too fattening)… or the kids dressed up (oh, the horrors)… but the deliciously useless kitsch. I have a plastic skeleton, several large, furry black spiders (with webs), and a rather gruesome ... Read More »
The ubiquitous rep of Pinot Grigio is legendary. Grown in Italy for centuries and quaffed at many a trattoria by the ceramic pitcher-full, this humble grape actually bears French roots, not Italian. Pinot Gris is the name elsewhere in the world, from France’s Alsace region to Australia to New Zealand. ... Read More »
With Bastille Day done and over for the year, my thoughts turn to my favorite French wine region… Burgundy. The birthplace and Mecca of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir which evokes reverence in the hearts of wine drinkers worldwide. Countless paragraphs have described these hallowed wines with words like ... Read More »
I’ve been compared to Andy Rooney several times in my life, my incessant, trenchant observations noted by professors and friends alike. I haven’t figured out if that’s a compliment, but at least he’s funny (to me) and has sold a lot of books. In a tip of the glass to a magnificent ... Read More »
I can say with certainty that I haven’t walked away from many winemaker interviews wanting to sign up for their wine club. I simply have too much wine sitting in my cellar at home. But the wines from Pure Cru, made by the ever popular and ever well-connected Napa Valley winemaker Mitch Cosentino, ... Read More »
Although I unfortunately missed the witticisms during the #AlbarinoDay on Twitter May 9th, I eagerly consumed the quips from my fellow bloggers post haste. Albarino [al-bah-REEN-nyo], a finicky, aromatic white grape, is grown primarily in the small, green, lush region on the northwestern coast of ... Read More »
As a bead of sweat runs down my cleavage, I reach for the best thirst-quenching tool at the pool: a cool, dewy plastic glass of white or rosé wine. There’s nothing like it to satisfy quivering, lusty lips longing for the refreshing taste of crisp, clean wine. As I guzzle, an errant stream trickles ... Read More »
Everywhere I go in northern California — and I do mean everywhere — I’m hearing about the marijuana-laced red wine that seems to be all the rage. I met a guy at a foodie party in San Francisco last weekend (where, incidentally, they were smoking pot across the patio) who has tried ... Read More »
Bordeaux [BORE doe] wine: nectar of the gods for some; confusing, nightmarish morass of wine snobbery for others. I was recently sent a bunch of 2009 Bordeaux reds to sample and, as I tried them — alone (blind) and then paired with food — I was struck with the revelation that the majority ... Read More »
Thanks to Al Gore and the miracle of the internet, I can, from the slothful comfort of my couch, order shoes, clothes, guns and, of course, pharmaceuticals that will firm, tighten or enlarge various body parts. A friendly (and invariably hot) UPS guy will bring these much-desired items straight to ... Read More »
I went to the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers Festival in San Francisco with one mission: to find out, once and for all, what food pairs with Zinfandel from the people who make the juice. This grapes is often low in tannins and acidity with a reputation for hefty alcohol… what would these ... Read More »