Provence Wines

January 1, 2016 20

2015 THROUGH THE LENS OF MY WINE GLASS

2015 was a good year. Brilliant clarity and great depth. Intense bouquets segueing into a well-balanced product with layers of complexity. A lingering finish, imploring the reader, we hope, to return for more in 2016. Provence WineZine is still young but we have great promise [...]

December 14, 2015 4

INVITE SOME ROSÉS TO DINNER THIS HOLIDAY

Last May, I had the great pleasure of attending the biannual “Tasting Supper” at Blantyre, the luxurious Tudor-style manor tucked into 117 forested acres of the Berkshires, in Lenox, Massachusetts. Part of the posh Relais & Châteaux collection of luxury properties, it’s not surprising that our seven-course meal was exquisite in every way. (Proprietor Ann Fitzpatrick Brown would not have it any other way.) It is etched into my memory for the beautifully prepared [...]

November 16, 2015 5

CHASING CHÂTEAU LÉOUBE’S ‘’SUPER ROSÉ’’

“Fini,” Jérôme Pernot, Sales and Marketing Director at Château Léoube, told photographer Pamela O’Neill and me during a recent visit to the Château. “I don’t even have one bottle left,” he said. “Well, except for a few bottles in the owners’ private cellar [...]

November 7, 2015 13

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
A Special Occasion

Special wines, and special foods, should be saved for special occasions. Today is the 10th anniversary of Mark's and my move to Tucson, and we wanted to celebrate in an appropriate fashion. The wine - a 2007 Château Vignelaure Coteaux d'Aix en Provence - was chosen to mark the day, and the meal to go with it had to be equally special. I chose to serve a roasted pork tenderloin crusted in Provençal herbs [...]

October 17, 2015 50

THE PASTAGA OF LÉOUBE

In August of last year, Château Léoube’s Secret de Léoube was given a shout by Drinks Magazine, having placed in the gold medal tier of their 2014 Global Rosé Masters wine tasting competition with such local Provence favorites as Château d’Esclans and Mirabeau en Provence. Embarrassingly enough, having lived only an hour away for years, I had been blissfully ignorant of this domain. As Provence [...]

October 10, 2015 4

COME OVER TO THE DARK SIDE

It’s all about skin contact. Well, almost.

Minimal skin contact is the simplest explanation for the beautiful pale colors of the world’s most popular rosés. Of course I am referring to rosés from Provence, where pink wine has been made for over 2600 years, giving winemakers there ample time to perfect their rosé [...]

October 3, 2015 4

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Jumping to Conclusions

I did it. I jumped to a conclusion. I made an assumption. And I was wrong. I have been eating lobster most of my adult life, and as far back as I can remember, Viogniers were among the wines of choice to pair with lobster. I assumed that was a good idea when I made Lobster Thermidor, as I had a lovely Viognier from [...]

September 30, 2015 1

A Belated Salut to the Winemakers of Les Baux-de-Provence

This summer the winemakers of Les Baux-de-Provence celebrated their 20-year anniversary as an appellation. The winemakers group, Les Vignerons de Baux, hosted a party at the Carrières de Lumières in Les Baux-de-Baux (a medieval commune famous for [...]

August 24, 2015 15

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE ROSÉS

It's been a long hot summer, at least where I've been hanging my hat. I was in Provence for the hottest July on record, returned to New England where heat and humidity dominated many summer days, ditto for my visits to New York--in August what else would I expect?-- and [...]

July 4, 2015 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
On the Marc

Unless you are headed to France, or know someone who brought back a bottle (that was my method!), you probably won't be sipping Domaines Ott's Vieux Marc Rosé. Sadly, it is not imported to the United States! I paired this vieux marc, made from the skins of grapes used to make rosé, with a really old-fashioned dessert: Crêpes Suzette. Although my recipe is toned down in its buttery sweetness, it still requires something special for pairing. [...]

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