Blog Designer

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food You Can Tell a Wine by Its Label
AOP Côtes de Provence Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

You Can Tell a Wine by Its Label

When searching for a Provençal rosé to pair with this week's recipe - Cambozola and Fig Flatbread - I have to admit that I chose the wine for its label. I know several wine enthusiasts who swear they never choose a wine this way, but I don't believe them. Not completely, anyway. I think even they would be beguiled by this
Read More
8 Replies
GARLIC IS IN THE AIR…IT MUST BE AÏOLI TIME!
Culture Food People The Modern Trobadors

GARLIC IS IN THE AIR…IT MUST BE AÏOLI TIME!

When the weather gets hot, our mortar and pestle becomes a fixture on the kitchen table. The familiar rhythmic sound of pestle-striking-mortar fills the air and the pungent aroma of garlic wafts through the house. Aïoli. It's aïoli time. The word, aïoli, comes from the French word for garlic--ail--and the Occitan word for oil—òli—the two primary ingredients in this deliciously simple Provençal dish. So ubiquitous is this sauce on tables in Provence that it is also known as...
Read More
2 Replies
Musings of a Wine Maven“Has a Good Beat … Easy to Dance to”
Musings of a Wine Maven Wine Wine Classification Wine Tasting

Musings of a Wine Maven

“Has a Good Beat … Easy to Dance to”

Raise your hand if you immediately recognize this title as coming from Dick Clark’s American Bandstand “Rate a Record” segment. Hmm, not as many hands went up as I thought would. Perhaps, readers of this blog were busy watching Julia Child’s The French Chef or Graham Kerr on The Galloping Gourmet or, as I think about it, perhaps many readers were not yet born. Dick Clark’s legendary TV show, on the air from 1952 to 1989, showcased at least one band and played the Top 40’s songs to which gaggles of teenagers danced the hour away.

I am reminded of Dick Clark as I walk down the overstocked aisles in wine superstores these days and note the liberal use of “shelf talkers,” touting this wine and that wine
Read More
25 Replies
Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food Tasting Tavel
AOP Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Rhône Wines Rosé Wine Tavel Wine Wine Tasting

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
Read More
13 Replies
MARC CHAGALL AT THE CARRIÈRES DE LUMIÈRES: EXTRAORDINARY
Art Culture Events Museums Places The Modern Trobadors

MARC CHAGALL AT THE CARRIÈRES DE LUMIÈRES: EXTRAORDINARY

The Carrières de Lumières defy description.  One could say (aptly) that it is a multi-media extravaganza—about 100 projectors casting 3,000 images on walls as high as 14 meters, spilling onto the ceiling and the floor, and choreographed perfectly with music ringing out from about 25 speakers strategically placed within the 5,000 square meters of a former limestone quarry certainly qualifies as fantastic...
Read More
10 Replies
THE STORY OF RÉGINE SUMEIRE’S “PÉTALE DE ROSE” ROSÉ
AOP Côteaux Varois Côtes de Provence Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine Wine Tasting Winemaker Profiles

THE STORY OF RÉGINE SUMEIRE’S “PÉTALE DE ROSE” ROSÉ

After I read the invitation to a winetasting of “Pétale de Rose” rosé back in spring of 2015, I was confused. The rosé bearing this name appeared to be made at two different domaines: Château Barbeyrolles and Château Tour de l’Évêque. Muddling the picture
Read More
8 Replies
Château Saint-Maur Showcases Work of Storytelling Artist Marc Ferrero
AOP Côtes de Provence Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine Wine Wine Snoop Report

Château Saint-Maur Showcases Work of Storytelling Artist Marc Ferrero

Rod Stewart famously sang, "Every picture tells a story," and internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Marc Ferrero is creating artwork that really does just that. As leader of the "Storytelling Art" movement, he is bringing stories to life on his canvasses. For Ferrero, "the canvas
Read More
3 Replies
CATCHING UP WITH THE PROVENCE GURU
Books Culture People The Modern Trobadors

CATCHING UP WITH THE PROVENCE GURU

Those of you who travel to Provence or fancy a trip sometime soon--or who are lucky enough to live here--no doubt are acquainted with the Provence Guru. The Guru--aka, Jamie Ivey--and wife Tanya traded their London lives for adventures in Provence that spawned four books, a glossy magazine about Provence, a market stall where they sold rosé, a pop-up rosé bar, and a blog. I caught up with Ivey at Café Gaby in Lourmarin last week to find out what was keeping him busy these days. And, I got some scoop...
Read More
2 Replies
Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food And the Oscar Goes To…
AOP Côtes de Provence Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine

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
Read More
3 Replies
Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food The Happy Couple
AOP Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

The Happy Couple

A happy marriage isn't just about how you get along with one another. It's also about how you, as a couple, get along with others, and they with you. Meet the Croques: Monsieur & Madame. They get along really well - in fact, they are so much alike that people can't remember which is which! Today, I made both a Croque Madame
Read More
6 Replies
A PRELUDE TO VISITING CHÂTEAU SAINT-MAUR CRU CLASSÉ: A TASTING OF THEIR LUSCIOUS TRIO OF ROSÉS
AOP Côtes de Provence Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine

A PRELUDE TO VISITING CHÂTEAU SAINT-MAUR CRU CLASSÉ: A TASTING OF THEIR LUSCIOUS TRIO OF ROSÉS

It’s official. Even though here at Chez Manfull, we’ve been enjoying rosé throughout the deep-freeze months of December, January and February, there is something about Memorial Day
Read More
9 Replies
Pinknic Debuts in New York City
Côtes de Provence Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine Wine Snoop Report

Pinknic Debuts in New York City

Rosé comes in more colors than just pink, of course, but it is called rosé for a reason—it’s usually pink or some variation on that color theme. Imagine a huge festival “dedicated exclusively to rosé wine,” and surely “pink” comes to mind, followed closely by words like “pretty, fun
Read More
2 Replies
CHÂTEAU VIGNELAURE:  “THE” RED IN PROVENCE BEFORE TRÉVALLON CAME ALONG…IS BACK!
AOP Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Cuvée Grape Varietals IGP/VDP Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Classification Winemaker Profiles

CHÂTEAU VIGNELAURE: “THE” RED IN PROVENCE BEFORE TRÉVALLON CAME ALONG…IS BACK!

In 1987, in his introduction to Provence wines in The Wines of the Rhône Valley and Provence, legendary wine critic Robert Parker described the newly created Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence appellation in four sentences
Read More
9 Replies
Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food Versatility
AOP Côtes de Provence Cuvée Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine Wine Classification

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
Read More
9 Replies
Sacha Lichine Buys Winemaking Cooperative in La Motte
AOP Côtes de Provence Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine Wine Classification Wine Snoop Report Winemaker Profiles

Sacha Lichine Buys Winemaking Cooperative in La Motte

Sacha Lichine, Bordeaux-bred proprietor of world-renowned Château d’Esclans, has bought a coop in the village of La Motte, where the Château is also located. Apparently, the demand for Whispering Angel, the entry level rosé of the four pink wines he currently
Read More
12 Replies
Coteaux Varois en Provence Sponsors Salon du Millésime 2015
AOP Côteaux Varois IGP/VDP Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Classification Wine Snoop Report Wine Tasting

Coteaux Varois en Provence Sponsors Salon du Millésime 2015

Picture, if you will, a garden flanked by soaring Italian cyprus, a graceful five-star inn built atop a Roman villa, and a vineyard conserving 88 Provençal grape varieties, all on the premises of an 11th-century Benedictine Abbey, classified as an historical monument. Cover it with
Read More
MARC PERRIN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TERROIR, FAMILY, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS
AOP Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape Côteaux Varois Côtes du Rhone Côtes du Rhône Villages Provence Wines Red Wine Rhône Wines Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Classification Winemaker Profiles

MARC PERRIN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TERROIR, FAMILY, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS

We stood at the edge of his family’s vineyard at Château de Beaucastel, one of the most revered estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the most prestigious appellation in the South of France. Located in the flattest part
Read More
16 Replies
ROMAIN OTT BLAZES NEW PATHS IN CHÂTEAU LÉOUBE VINEYARDS:  IS THAT CAB FRANC GROWING IN PROVENCE?
Côtes de Provence Cuvée Grape Varietals Provence Wines Red Wine Vin de France/VdT Wine Wine Classification

ROMAIN OTT BLAZES NEW PATHS IN CHÂTEAU LÉOUBE VINEYARDS: IS THAT CAB FRANC GROWING IN PROVENCE?

In 2002, five years after acquiring Château Léoube, owner Sir Anthony Bamford approached the estate’s winemaker, Romain Ott, with a radical proposition: what if, for one cuvée
Read More
11 Replies
ESCAPE THE GLITZ OF CANNES WITH A VISIT TO ÎLE SAINT HONORAT
Culture History Places The Modern Trobadors Travel Uncategorized Wine

ESCAPE THE GLITZ OF CANNES WITH A VISIT TO ÎLE SAINT HONORAT

Cannes is the quintessential French Riviera resort, renowned for its glamour and bling year-round.  Come May and the internationally acclaimed Cannes Film Festival, the Promenade de la Croisette that wraps around the waterfront, passing the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès where the festival is held, will swell with even more rich and famous folks who have flocked to Cannes to rub shoulders with celebrities and, oh yes, see a few film...
Read More
7 Replies
Sixty-Three Gold Medals Awarded in Vins de Provence Annual Competition
AOP Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Côteaux Varois Côtes de Provence Cuvée Grape Varietals Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Classification Wine Snoop Report

Sixty-Three Gold Medals Awarded in Vins de Provence Annual Competition

The Vins de Provence annual tasting competition took place on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at the Maison des Vins Côtes de Provence in Les Arcs sur Argens in the Var Department. Nearly 700 wines were sampled by the tasting panel which comprised
Read More
2 Replies
1 10 11 12 13 14 25

UA-53855671-1