Wine

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 [...]

December 5, 2015 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Muscat Love

It's been twelve months of Provençal wine and food pairings now, and I imagine you have seen some patterns. I love pairing special meals with special wines, and sharing the experiences with special people. Which makes me chuckle when I think of how the French use the descriptor "special" in not so nice a way. «Ouai, ça c'est très SPECIAL...» But, I digress... [...]

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 [...]

November 1, 2015 27

Musings of a Wine Maven
BARREL TASTING CONTINUES IN FRANCE NOTWITHSTANDING THE ENTENTE CORDIALE

It’s funny how one can misconstrue history, imagining the raison d’être of certain events to be one thing, and then being surprised to learn that reality is quite different. Such was the case when I moved to France in 1988. At that time, I was vaguely aware of some sort of official agreement between the French and the English termed the Entente Cordiale. At the time I did not realize it was originally a alliance pertaining to political and military relations, rather assuming the document was drafted and accepted (in 1904) to signal a new era of conviviality between two nations that shared a 1,000 year history of dislike, bordering [...]

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 [...]

September 27, 2015 12

A CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE IN HONOR OF POPE FRANCIS

Since the arrival of Pope Francis in Washington, D.C. and his stirring address to Congress—rousing all but the most lackluster members of this elite audience—I have been riveted by his words to each of the disparate groups he would go on to meet. No matter what one’s political or religious beliefs may be, there seemed to be something for [...]

September 5, 2015 10

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
As Summer Slips Away…

I suppose, in the end, the title of this post should have been, "As Summer Sips Away." We often think of rosés as "summer wines," and we rue the end of the long, hot, languorous days, and our sipping of that wonderful, pink, Provençal nectar. But, unlike putting away your white pants and shoes, you don't have to stop drinking rosé; it is a year-round wine. [...]

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