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Reviews June 1, 2013

Ogier Clos de L’Oratoire Chateauneuf du Pape, Southern Rhone, France.

Grapes 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, and 5% Cinsault Facts It’s been a little-while since I last had/reviewed a bottle of CdP (what the cool kids call it…or at least…what I call it). Chateauneuf-du-Pape isn’t for everyone – its intensity and “tertiary” flavors certainly take some getting use to – but I’d probably put it up there as my overall all-time favorite French wine region. Seven generations of winegrowers have tended to the…

Reviews December 20, 2012

Domaine Juliette Avril, Cotes du Ventoux, France.

Grapes Grenache, Syrah, Carignan Facts If you’re looking to slowly step into France, but aren’t sure where to start, wines from Ventoux might be right up your alley! I speak to a great number of people who tell me that when they buy red wine from France, it’s always so earthy, tannic and dry. The bonus with wines from Ventoux is they tend to skew a little more juicy/jammy, certainly more than their neighboring…

Pairings, Recipes August 13, 2012

Rendez-vous Grenache Rose Paired with Salmon with Curried Fennel-Wine Sauce.

If you caught my recent post on pairing foods with rose wine, you’ll know that I consider roses to be one of the most food friendly, albeit one of the most overlooked, wines to match with food. I’d even go so far as to put them right up there with Riesling and bubblies, as far as their all-round pairing ability! I’ve said it countless times before, but I still feel the need to reiterate, that…

Reviews May 17, 2012

Cercius, Cotes du Rhone, France.

Grapes 85% Grenache, 15% Syrah Facts You’ve probably read countless times that “…you should never choose a wine based on the label!” Well, I call BS on that! If anything, France needs to step-up their wine label game (as is beautifully demonstrated here) and start getting more creative if they plan on rising from the ashes! To me, a great label and overall good packaging are sometimes the only way a producer is going…

Pairings April 25, 2012

Domaine La Barroche Chateauneuf-du-Pape Paired with Pale Ale Beef Stew.

This isn’t exactly seasonally-inspired cuisine (since this is very much a winter-esque dish), but I’m not running a restaurant here, so get over it! :) Seriously though, a great amount of thought goes into these pairings (and indeed everything I put on this site). I want people to enjoy them, relate to them, read the whole-thing through to the end and possibly even make them in their in home. My rule-of-thumb is that if I…

Pairings, Recipes January 23, 2012

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Chops Paired with La Griveliere Cotes du Rhone 2010.

Ever since receiving a set of insanely expensive Laguiole steak knives for Christmas, I’ve been dying to test them out. Truth-be-told, when I unwrapped the small rectangler box on Dec 25th, my heart dropped into my shoes when I saw the Laguiole logo on the wooden case. For one second I thought the Mrs. had dropped $100+ on a Laguiole wine opener. I don’t by any means want to sound ungrateful, it’s not that I…

Reviews December 17, 2011

Perrin & Fils “Les Sinards”Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone, France, 2007

Grape 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre Facts I do have to say, I’ve always had an affinity for Chateauneuf-du-Pape, even before I started really getting into wine. Maybe it’s because, for some reason, I deemed it to be my first “serious” bottle of vino. I’ve always thought of Chateauneuf to be almost stuck in time. Whereas most other wine regions of the world have seen at least a partial amount of modernization;…

Reviews November 25, 2011

The Police “Synchronicity” Red Wine Blend, Mendocino, California.

Grapes Carignane, Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Viognier (probably in that order, %’s unknown). The term “Synchronicity” refers to a “meaningful mix of seemingly unrelated events resulting in a significant sum”, which was the inspiration for this red wine blend of grapes which aren’t commonly seen together. Facts Quite unbelievably, Sting is actually hand-harvesting all the grapes himself from this “Synchronicity-blend”. He also serves as winemaker; and can regularly be seen in the…

Reviews November 15, 2011

Domaine Carobelle Gigondas 2009

Grapes 80% Grenache 15% Syrah 5% Cinsault Facts I have a special little place in my heart for Gigondas, it was one of the first bottles that really got me into the world of wine. The name Gigondas [jhee-gon-dahs] comes from the Latin Jocunditas meaning “great pleasure”, as the region was home to many Roman Legions as an area of recreation. Grenache is always the main grape in red Gigondas, and is not permitted…

Reviews November 11, 2011

Little James’ Basket Press – A Wine by Louis Barroul.

Grapes 100% Grenache Facts Louis Barruol, the winemaker behind the Little James Basket Press is part of the new generation of winemakers in the Southern Rhone region of France, who through years of study and instruction from his winemaking father, has breathed a fair amount of new life into their old family-held estates. The Barruol family has a long heritage in winemaking and has been involved with the hugely respected Chateau de St….

Pairings October 28, 2011

Texas-Style Chili Paired with Huguenot Cuvee de Rouge, Santa Ynez – California.

This last Monday, I had the privilege to attend my first ever Monday night football game! Suffice to say it was probably the most American thing I’ve done all year! For the first time since I’ve been living in Jacksonville, the Mrs and I decided to take a big leap of faith, and become season ticket holders for the Jacksonville Jaguar’s (whom I still insist on pronouncing JAG-U-AHHHS). I can’t say why I thought season…

Reviews October 13, 2011

Can Blau 2008 from Montsant, Spain.

Grapes Mazuelo 40%, Syrah 40% Garnacha 20% Facts I’ve been on a bit of a Jorge Ordonez (the importer of this wine) kick lately! As the “bringer-inner” (I just made up that term) of some of the best Spanish wines in the U.S, he’s been fighting to help the wines of Spain wines out of obscurity since 1987. When looking at a bottle of Spanish wine, look for the Jorge Ordoñez importer information on the…