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Provençal Pairings: Wine with FoodWine and Spice and Everything Nice
Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Wine and Spice and Everything Nice

When Susan and Alex were here in December, we went on a bit of a (wine) shopping spree. Shocking, right? One of the wines we bought was a 2015 Le Caillou from Le Clos du Caillou in the Côtes du Rhône appellation. The proprietor of the wine store raved
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Vinisud + VinoVision in Paris Next Year
Provence Wines Red Wine Rhône Wines Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Expo Wine Snoop Report Wine Tasting

Vinisud + VinoVision in Paris Next Year

Having just wrapped up the 14th Vinisud—which took place from February 18th to 20th in Montpellier—plans were announced for 2019. Next year, Vinisud and VinoVision will join forces with VinoVision, the cool climate wine exhibition. The wine fair will take place from February 10th to 12th at the
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MILLÉSIME BIO 2018: MY THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM PROVENCE AND SOUTHERN RHÔNE TABLES
Languedoc-Roussillon Natural Wine Provence Wines Red Wine Rhône Wines Rosé Wine White Wine Wine

MILLÉSIME BIO 2018: MY THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM PROVENCE AND SOUTHERN RHÔNE TABLES

Millésime Bio 2018 opened their doors on January 29th to upwards of 3000 people. I was one of those people on that first
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Provençal Pairings: Wine with FoodAngels at My Table
AOP Côtes de Provence Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine Wine Food Pairing

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Angels at My Table

When in the company of angels, you had better plan a decent meal. Right?

Whispering Angel and Rock Angel are the first two of four wines from Château d’Esclans. The next two up the ladder are Les Clans and Garrus. While I have yet to taste either of these latter
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DOMAINE RICHEAUME: TAKING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
Côtes de Provence IGP/VDP Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Winemaker Profiles

DOMAINE RICHEAUME: TAKING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Sylvain Hoesch was not going to be a winemaker. “No,” he answered, rather emphatically for a man who seemed to have such a quiet demeanor. “I was sure I was going to do something else.” Hoesch grew up on Domaine
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Provence Loses One of Its Biggest Fans: Peter Mayle Dies at Age 78
Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Snoop Report

Provence Loses One of Its Biggest Fans: Peter Mayle Dies at Age 78

Peter Mayle, the British advertising executive and author of children’s books turned internationally-renowned author of books set in Provence, passed away early Thursday morning in a hospital in Provence. I learned that he was not well when I was in Provence this past summer, but it is unclear what caused his death at age 78. News sources have described it as a “brief illness.” He is survived by his wife, Jennie, with whom he moved
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Château Barbebelle’s Madeleine Herbeau Comes to New Hampshire
AOP Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Snoop Report Winemaker Profiles

Château Barbebelle’s Madeleine Herbeau Comes to New Hampshire

Madeleine Herbeau, for whom Château Barbebelle’s cuvée Madeleine rosé is named, is coming to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Sponsored by Top Terroir LLC, she will attend a tasting of her 2017 Cuvée Madeleine and Cuvée Héritage at Maison Navarre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Tuesday, January 23 from 12:00 p.m. to 2 p.m. On Thursday, January 25, she will be at the Top Terroir table at the 2018 Winter Wine Spectacular at the Radisson Hotel in
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AT CHÂTEAU GASQUI, NATURE IS A COMPANION TO BE TRUSTED NOT DOMINATED
AOP Côtes de Provence Natural Wine Provence Wines Red Wine Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Tasting Winemaker Profiles

AT CHÂTEAU GASQUI, NATURE IS A COMPANION TO BE TRUSTED NOT DOMINATED

“You have to have confidence in the terroir,” winemaker François Miglio emphatically told me. “You have to accompany its natural harmony,” he continued, echoing the essence
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Provençal Pairings: Wine with FoodTogether Again
AOP Côtes de Provence Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines Red Wine Wine Wine Food Pairing

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Together Again

It has been literally years since Susan and I shared a meal and a bottle of wine... or some number of bottles of wine, if we are going to be honest. But, in the beginning of December, she and her daughter Alex popped into Tucson for a long weekend of flavorful feasting, viniferous verification, and familiar
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Musings of a Wine MavenAre you ready for a wine cellar in 2018?
Bordeaux Burgundy Châteauneuf-du-Pape Musings of a Wine Maven Provence Wines Red Wine Rhône Wines Rosé Wine White Wine Wine

Musings of a Wine Maven

Are you ready for a wine cellar in 2018?

A wine cellar can be defined in various ways. In its basic element, I define it as a place to stash wine. My first was a nine-bottle wooden rack placed at the back of a clothes closet on the seventh floor of an air-conditioned apartment building in New York City. Since that humble beginning, my storage space has hitched itself to my business-related moves to no less than fourteen
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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
AOP Cassis Côtes de Provence IGP/VDP Provence Wines Red Wine White Wine Wine

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

It’s Christmas Day -- Our house is dressed for this hallowed occasion, the tree is cut and trimmed, gifts are wrapped, and stockings are filled. Phew! It was a race to the finish line this year. I was afraid I would run into Santa when we finally headed up to our
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Musings of a Wine MavenMy Favorite Seasonal Window Display in New York City
AOP Côtes de Provence Musings of a Wine Maven Provence Wines Rosé Wine Wine

Musings of a Wine Maven

My Favorite Seasonal Window Display in New York City

I no longer wait in that endless line to meet Santa at Macy's flagship store on Herald Square in Manhattan, but I do indulge in other seasonal delights in the city. Good friend and wine importer Jacques Navarre joined me in the Apple recently. Beginning at Saint Pat’s under the lights, we crossed Fifth Avenue to see the giant tree and the skaters at Rockefeller Center, followed by the famous department store windows, including a peek at Saks’ windows (always stunning during the holidays).
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Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food Cool Wine, Daddy-O… I’m Hip!
AOP Côtes du Rhone Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Rhône Wines White Wine Wine Wine Food Pairing Wine Tasting

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Cool Wine, Daddy-O… I’m Hip!

I found the following on the British blog Golly's Wine Drops: "Léon Perdigal Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc ’15 has a full on hipster collection of grapes in it... So cool you’ve never heard of half of them. It doesn’t hold any truck with oak either so the grapes get to do all the talking." It makes me wonder, what would really make a wine "hipster?"
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SO YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND ROSÉ? NEW BOOK BY ELIZABETH GABAY MW OUT IN DECEMBER
AOP Bandol Bellet Cassis Corsican Wines Costières de Nimes Côte de Ventoux Côte du Luberon Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Côteaux Varois Côtes de Provence Côtes du Rhone IGP/VDP Les Baux de Provence Palette Pierrevert Provence Wines Rhône Wines Rosé Wine Tavel Vin de France/VdT Wine

SO YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND ROSÉ? NEW BOOK BY ELIZABETH GABAY MW OUT IN DECEMBER

Alexis Lichine famously said, “If you want to learn about wine, buy a corkscrew and use it.” Elizabeth Gabay MW, being a fixture in the Provence
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NATURAL WINE:  LESS IS MORE AND OTHER LESSONS FROM RAW WINE NEW YORK 2017
AOP Bandol Côtes de Provence Côtes du Rhone Côtes du Rhône Villages Natural Wine Provence Wines Rasteau Red Wine Rhône Wines Rosé Wine Vacqueyras White Wine Wine Wine Expo

NATURAL WINE: LESS IS MORE AND OTHER LESSONS FROM RAW WINE NEW YORK 2017

Natural wines came on my radar a few years ago, probably through the writings of Alice Feiring, one of the first mainstream writers to champion their cause. Feiring is a gifted and
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PROVENCE WINEZINE PICKS WINES FOR THANKSGIVING 2017
AOP Bandol Beaumes de Venise Cassis Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape Côte du Luberon Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Côteaux Varois Côtes de Provence Côtes du Rhone Fortified Wines Gigondas IGP/VDP Les Baux de Provence Muscat de Beaumes de Venise Natural Wine Pierrevert Provence Wines Red Wine Rhône Wines Rosé Wine Spirits Tavel Vacqueyras White Wine Wine Wine Food Pairing

PROVENCE WINEZINE PICKS WINES FOR THANKSGIVING 2017

So you want to add a little French flair to this quintessentially American meal? But a wave of anxiety engulfed you when you remembered that seven years ago, UNESCO deemed French gastronomy to be "a world intangible
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Provence WineZine Goes to RAW WINE New York
Côtes de Provence Natural Wine Provence Wines Red Wine Rhône Wines Rosé Wine White Wine Wine Wine Snoop Report Wine Tasting

Provence WineZine Goes to RAW WINE New York

Today is the start of RAW WINE New York, a two-day artisan wine fair devoted to natural wine. It’s the second year in the Big Apple and promises to be a popular event again—tickets for today sold out three days ago and apparently Monday is now also sold out (although organizers encourage interested parties to check availability at the door…and suggest they may be lucky). About 2300 people attended last
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Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food A Goddess in Our Midst
AOP Côtes de Provence Provencal Pairings: Wine with Food Provence Wines White Wine Wine Wine Food Pairing Wine Tasting

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

A Goddess in Our Midst

Toward the end of my pairing notes last month, I suggested I might have remembered Rolle being someone softer, fuller, and rounder than its Italian counterpart, Vermentino. It seems that I was right. Disclaimer: I only tasted two of hundreds of wines out there that are made with 100% Rolle or Vermentino. Just two. However, they are both highly rated and come from well-respected vintners. As I tested the Antinori Vermentino twice, I thought it only fair to do the same with the Rolle. For one
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OFF THE VIA DOMITIANAPA’S KALE ROSÉ GOES TO PROVENCE
Off the Via Domitia Rhône Rangers Rosé Wine Wine Wine Club Winemaker Profiles

OFF THE VIA DOMITIA

NAPA’S KALE ROSÉ GOES TO PROVENCE

Rosé continues to take the United States by storm. France drinks the most rosé by a long shot, accounting for 35% of world consumption or 8.5 million hectoliters (mhl) of rosé, but the United States comes in a second (3.4 mhl). A distant second, yes, but we drink 14% of the rosé consumed by the world. That’s nearly 453 million bottles of rosé a
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JACQUELINE BRICARD’S “REGARD NAÏF EUROPÉEN” EXHIBITION EXTENDED THROUGH DECEMBER
Art Culture Events News People Places The Modern Trobadors

JACQUELINE BRICARD’S “REGARD NAÏF EUROPÉEN” EXHIBITION EXTENDED THROUGH DECEMBER

There were just a few paintings still to hang when I left Lourmarin in late September. Before departing—and two days before the opening--I popped by to see Jacqueline Bricard, proprietor of the naïf art gallery bearing her name and curator of the “Regard Naïf Européen” exhibition. She was in the midst of the usual frenzy entailed in the preparations for a large exhibition...
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