Taking the world one wine at a time.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to get to restaurant’s working the schedule I do. Some of the best places in Jacksonville are closed on Sunday and Monday (my usual days off), and most places are closed by the time I finish work. Dinner at 13 Gypsies has therefore been a long time coming! First off, let me start by saying that the place is tiny, and by tiny I mean 7 tables. It therefore…
Read MoreThis is the official guide of the Biltmore and is fully downloadable for free. Guide to the Biltmore House in North Carolina
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Grape 99% Chardonnay, 1% Riesling Facts Biltmore Estate took almost 7 years to build, but this isn’t so shocking when you consider the size of the 175,000 square foot home. To put that in perspective, that’s about the size of 88 average size homes! The Vanderbilt’s were worth over $200 million, which is obviously a lot of money today, but think about that amount back in the 1800’s! Biltmore wines are made by the…
Read MoreWine: Biltmore Reserve Region: Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California Grape: 100% Pinot Noir Price: $25
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I think the last time I had Beef Stroganoff was in England over 10 years ago! I worked a lot of banquet catering events, and “Beef Strog” was always the menu item of choice. I’m guessing mainly because it can be hot-held over a long period of time, with the one minor drawback being that the beef always ended up tasting like boiled leather. This Beef Stroganoff however tastes nothing like my English experience…
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Grape 87% Chardonnay, 5% Viognier, 3% Malvasia Facts The wine is named “Sur Lies” (pronounced lees), after the dead yeast cells (lies) which settle to the bottom of fermentation tanks. If these cells are agitated (usually by the winemaker stirring the vat), the wine will take on some of the qualities of the yeasts, giving additional richness, complexity and a toasty quality. Only one third of the wine that goes into the final blend…
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