Wine Column
The Best of Wine, Spirits and Food!
Holiday Gifts for Gourmets
By Doc Lawrence. Perhaps this season’s most intriguing gift possibility comes from Samuel Adams’ founder Jim Koch with his new beer, Utopias. Strong, rich, dark, uncarbonated and served room temperature in a snifter glass, it weighs in at 27 percent alcohol and runs $150 dollars per bottle. The jug is a work of art. www.samueladams.com. […]
Thanksgiving With Fine Wine
By Doc Lawrence. The year is winding down and we’ll help it go in high style. Gatherings and homecomings are highlighted by feasts. Laughter permeates and for a little more than a month we celebrate. Wynton Marsalis, the jazz maestro, told me about the magic of the blues, one of America’s original art forms. The […]
A Grape By Any Other Name
By Robert Paul. So, what’s in a wine’s name or should we say “Sancerrely Folks?” Should wine from the sauvignon blanc grape be called Sancerre, white Bordeaux, sauvignon blanc, blanc fumé, fumé blanc, pouilly fumé? The answer is, all of the above. The flavors of the sauvignon blanc grape, which is usually vinified in stainless […]
What’s a Fair Price for Restaurant Wine?
By Robert Paul. Have you ever looked at a wine list in a restaurant and thought, “you’ve got to be kidding.” Suppose you go to a restaurant and find a familiar bottle listed on the menu, say a Ravenswood Vintner’s Blend Zinfandel, which you regularly purchase for $7-$9 a bottle. This restaurant offers it for […]
The wines for when you want a meal to sparkle
By Robert Paul. Nearly a decade ago when talking to a French wine buyer for a large beverage chain, I asked him what wine he’d suggest when a couple’s meal choices were divided between fowl or seafood on the one hand and beef or lamb on the other. What he said has stuck with me. […]
Oregon for the Oenophile!
By Judi Gallagher. Looking for a wine country destination vacation? This year my suitcase in once again packed for Oregon. It’s a vacation that satisfies both the wine lover and the cuisine thrill seeker. Begin in Portland and do visit the city’s remarkable public rose garden and the famous Powell Bookstore before concentrating on the […]
Libations
By Robert Paul. At first glance, any recipe that includes a savory cole slaw and baked beans cries out for beer, not wine. My preference would be for a beer that is not too heavy and has what, to my taste, is a flavor that works well during the Summer, something like a Blue Moon […]
Paso Robles
Off the beaten path, but surely not to be missed, is a region of vine heaven. Aloft in rolling hills and mountains, with a daily flow of chill that introduces itself around 3:00 p.m., Paso Robles is ripe for great wines and wine makers, farmers and quaint towns, each gently hugging the area. Not […]
Vivino’s Top 20 Holiday Proseccos + Gift Guide Submission
Prosecco, the sparkling wine from the Veneto region of Northern Italy, has become extremely popular all around the world. Prosecco is popular for two main reasons: its price and its easy drinkability. Vivino has reviewed data from the past year to determine which Prosecco wines are the most popular among our community of 27 million. […]