Chardonnay

Pairings October 27, 2013

Mumm Napa Brut Rose Paired with Oven Baked Ribs and Sweet Potato Casserole.

Apart from garnishing the plate with dried leaves and a squirrel, I can’t imagine how this recipe could be anymore Autumnal. [There’s a word I don’t use very often: Autumnal.] Any-who, this pairing combines two things I just don’t consume enough of; namely, ribs and bubbly…and even more-so on the same dinner table! I’ve never been a fan of sticking to “food and wine pairing rules,” but I’d never go so far as to say…

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News, Reviews October 14, 2013

Grape Expectations – Eight Wines that Pair With Summer and Fall.

Ok, first-things-first, I didn’t write the title for this article. “Grape Expectations” is way beyond my reaches of my creativity. Secondly; I wrote this article a couple of months ago for the Jacksonville Magazine “Taste” Edition…and I know we’re out of Summer now….but I think it still has relevance…since the weather here is Florida is so bloody-warm well into November! 4 Summer Wines Taltarni “Tache,” Brut Sparkling, Australia Description The term Tache (meaning “stained” in…

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Reviews May 16, 2013

Kupljen “Spirit of Svetinje” White Wine Blend, Slovenia.

  Grapes 34% Chardonnay, 33% Renski Riesling, 33% Pinot Gris   Facts Ahhh yes! There’s nothing better than getting home from a hard day’s graft ( after staring at a computer for most of the day) than to kick off my shoes, and reaching for a bottle of Kupljen “Spirit of Svetinje” from the Jeruzalemsko-Svetinjske hills of north-eastern Slovenia… Ok, so that’s a lie. Firstly, I mainly work out of my house, so my shoes…

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Pairings November 27, 2012

Spinach and Pepperjack Stuffed Chicken Paired with Robert Mondavi Napa Chardonnay.

I increasingly seem to find myself banging-on about the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) movement. Of course a great number of us have become bored with the same-old over-oaked Cali Chards, but that doesn’t mean to say oak doesn’t have a place in modern Chardonnay. Winemakers treat oak the same way that chefs treat salt when cooking. Without salt, a dish can barely come alive by itself. Adding even the tiniest amount to an unseasoned dish…

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Reviews August 16, 2012

Champagne De Venoge Grand Vin des Princes, 1993.

Grapes 100% Chardonnay   Facts The opening of this bottle of De Venoge 1993 Grand Vin des Princes was a last minute decision i.e. 30 minutes before I popped the cork. Usually, you would reserve opening a wine of this magnitude for the birth of your first-born child; instead, I/we decided that my wife’s “half-birthday” (August 7th) was a good enough reason! She’s an only child, and so she celebrates things like that… De Venoge…

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Pairings July 13, 2012

Rosemary and Clementine Roast Chicken Paired with Rendez-vous Chardonnay, Clarksburg, California.

I would like to point-out that this recipe made my house smell AMAZING! Of course, that wasn’t the best thing about the meal, but it’s always a pleasant byproduct! I have to admit that I’m usually pretty lazy when it comes to roasting a whole chicken, and I’m sure I’m not the only one (I’m talking about you)! The chickens that enter my house, 99% of the time, are entering already roasted i.e. I buy…

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Reviews May 9, 2012

White Balsamic-Braised Chicken with Leeks and Peas Paired with a Chardonnay Trio.

      “What’s with all the recipes you’ve been making with peas? You know I hate peas!” said Mrs Chislett. This was news to me. Or maybe not! Maybe it’s just been that long since I actually used peas in cooking, that it completely slipped my mind! Peas always remind me of school dinners, with the only reason that I find myself using them again here is I had a bag leftover from the…

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Reviews April 19, 2012

Simonnet Febvre Chablis, Burgundy, France.

Grapes 100% Chardonnay   Facts “Hang-on!!! Why doesn’t that bottle of Chablis have a handle?”Yup….. Carlo Rossi really screwed this one up for the French, didn’t he!?!? Even though his big-dirty-liter-jug-with-a-handle features the Chablis name, it’s about as far removed from “true” Chablis as you can get! So do me a favor, the next time you see this Californian imposter, you must only refer to it as CHAB-LIZ. Chablis is always white and always made…

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Reviews March 15, 2012

Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuisse, Burgundy, France, 2010.

Grape 100% Chardonnay Facts It wasn’t that long ago that Pouilly-Fuisse [poo-yee fwee-SAY] had developed a fairly bad reputation among wine drinkers. Overuse of fertilizers and herbicides in the vineyards resulted in huge crops. These grapes were in turn picked from the vine too early, by the vineyards who were scared about achieving the perfect ripeness levels. The result wasn’t good! Thin, watery, overly acidic wines that due to the Pouilly-Fuissé, name weren’t cheap either!…

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Pairings, Recipes March 14, 2012

Grilled Salmon with Blood Orange Salsa Paired with Smokescreen Napa Chardonnay

  When was the last time you cooked with blood orange? Never? Yeah, I think I was in the same boat as you until last night, at least, I couldn’t remember the last time… Smokescreen is a new brand of wine that I’ve recently happened upon. I reviewed the Smokescreen Red Blend recently, and was so sizably impressed that I thought the Chardonnay was worth a shot. I have to admit, I’m a little uninspired…

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