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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…

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…

Reviews April 19, 2013

Baldacci Cabernet, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley.

Grapes 100% Cabernet Facts There’s Napa and there’s Napa. The term “Napa Cabernet” is all too often used to refer to any wine that hails from “The Valley.” This rhetoric quite effectively tars all wineries with the same brush: from the behemoth brands, supplying many of the large grocery stores with their generic-tasting wine-flavored alcohol; all the way through to the small estate properties, producing miniscule quantities of truly hand-crafted wines each year….

Interview February 4, 2013

Interview with Tom Eddy from Tom Eddy Winery.

How long have you been making wine? Well, this is my 40th year, coming up, of winemaking. I started with big wineries and my ultimate goal was to have my own place. So I’m guessing, with 40 years, you’ve always been involved in winemaking… Yeah, I discovered wine when I was still in High School…. …as did most of us! <laughs> Yeah! True. So I fell in love with wine from an early…

Reviews February 1, 2013

Castello di Amorosa “La Castellana” Napa Valley, California.

Grapes 70% Cabernet, 16% Merlot, 14% Sangiovese Facts The Universe is a strange place…. ”Oh dear…he’s getting all weird and deep on us!” Wait a minute!!! Hear me out!!! So I was pouring at a wine tasting at a private residence last week, here in Jacksonville, and I happened to be looking through their wine cellar…because I’m nosy like that. Now let me just tell you that this is one of the most INSANE…

Events, News December 20, 2012

Premiere Napa Valley Wine Auction

I don’t know what your plans are for this coming February, but there’s a pretty-awesome event happening in Napa that I thought I’d fill you in on….you know….in case you’re just so happening to be in the area! The Premiere Napa Valley Auction is a wine auction like I haven’t seen before, probably because these types of events don’t happen that often. Essentially 200 of the best winemakers in “The Valley” have each agreed…

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…

Facts August 28, 2012

The Finest Napa Valley Crop in 1889 was….

Reviews July 26, 2012

Duel by Darioush, Napa, California.

Grapes 60% Cabernet, 40% Shiraz Facts I’d never seen this wine before, so I was over the moon when I received it as a gift on Tuesday! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Keep your friends close, and your wine-drinker friends closer!” The name Duel comes from the blend of Cabernet and Shiraz, and is illustrated on the front label by the dueling lion and bull. The idea is that the…

Reviews March 25, 2012

Fiftyrow Cabernet, Napa, 2007.

Grapes 100% Cabernet Facts Admittedly I’ve bit on a little “Napa-binge” lately, for which there is very good reason: I lost faith. Napa just hasn’t been “turning me on” much recently. There’s so much out there, but I think so many wineries are resting on their laurels, pumping out good (but not great) juice, slapping Napa on the label, charging a premium and hoping for the best. Fair play to them though,…

Reviews March 22, 2012

Dolce (Late Harvest Dessert Wine), Napa, 2006.

Grapes 80% Semillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc Facts Dessert wines have developed such a bad reputation. As stupid as it sounds, if I have to hear one more person say “…wow…that’s sweet!!!” or “…I couldn’t drink a whole bottle of that!!!” I may very well stab myself in the eye with a wine opener. To me, it’s exactly the same as saying “…wow….this Filet Mignon is kind of beefy!!!” or “…this steak is great…but I…

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…