Cocoa & Lavender

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Eat Dessert First?

I saw a display of Belleruche rosé at my local upscale grocery store. It was new to me and from a region I trust, thus it caught my attention. I was surprised to see it priced at $8.99, so I picked up a couple of bottles out of sheer curiosity. Only later did I find it at the Big Box wine store for significantly more. And, while it was unfamiliar to me, Susan brought to my attention the full page ad for Belleruche in The Wine Spectator last month; evidently, it is not unknown to [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

I’m No Fool!

When I saw a bottle of Château Léoube's "Rosé de Léoube" on sale, I bought it. I'm no fool. Yes, it's a little more expensive than our usual wine purchases, but I have heard from many people how good it is, and I wanted to know firsthand. Let me start by saying that I wish I had bought out their inventory! (So maybe I was a fool after all...?)

The first thing I did after getting the bottle was send a quick note to my Instagram friend Jérôme Pernot - a.k.a. Mr. Léoube - and asked him what he recommended serving with his wine. His suggestion? Roasted chicken

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Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

{Good} Accidents Will Happen

As I mentioned in my post last month, I was in Paris for Christmas and bought a couple of Provence wines for the dinners I was making in our apartment. Both wines were completely unknown to me; I chose based on the regions, labels, and the price point. Of the two whites available, I chose the one from Domaine de la Pallière; the other white sold for €3.00 bottle and, while it might have been perfectly good, it was Christmas and I wanted something a bit more special. [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Deception

Susan brought back this bottle for me from her most recent trip to Provence. A little something to thank me for being a part of the Provence WineZine family. Honestly, I am so lucky to be part of this endeavor, as I am constantly learning about wines, pairings, and my own [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Tasting Tavel

Four years ago, almost to the day, I was at a dinner party for which each of the eight guests was asked to bring a rosé to include in a blind tasting. The wines came from all around the world, and no one wine was duplicated. One of the wines presented was a Tavel; its dark hue was unfamiliar to us and assumptions of sugar content and [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

And the Oscar Goes To…

The other night, we had some friends over for l'Apéro - a wonderful French convention that gathers people for an hour (or so) to share a nice beverage and some nibbles. Often, a digestif such as Pastis, Lillet, or Campari is served, but it can just as easily be a wine. Susan wrote a wonderful piece on l'apéro several months ago - you can [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Versatility

This month I tried something different. I tested one wine with two very different dishes to learn what affect food really has on the taste. This all started because I had a bottle of 2015 Pétale de Rose from the well-known Château La Tour de l'Évêque, a bottle I can't easily get here in the Southwest where I live. I wanted the pairing to be special, and [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Wine for Food

I was perusing the rosé section at Total Wine last weekend in search of a bottle to have with my Moroccan harira, a soup I enjoyed when traveling in Morocco in 1991. The thing I love about winter - even here in Tucson - is that the stock of rosé wines is good. But this is also dismaying to me, as people - people who should know better - say [...]
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