Cocoa and Lavender

December 6, 2025 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Taking Chances

Several years ago, at Susan’s suggestion, I started getting Garagiste’s emails and offers. I have found many great wines through their website and I enjoy the process of buying a couple of bottles here, a couple there, and then getting my shipments when the weather is cool enough so as not to damage the wine. It’s like Christmas when the cases arrive — dozens of wonderful surprises and, for the most part, many winemakers with which I was unfamiliar. Sure, I know what wines I generally like but... [...]
November 1, 2025 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

The Other Châteauneuf

Just north of Avignon and its famous “pont,” is the viniculturally famous town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. To the east of Avignon is a much less famous town  — though not necessarily less important: Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne. And it is from this “other” Châteauneuf that the grapes for today’s wine come. Wine merchant Kermit Lynch works with growers and producers in the region to bring us some of the best wines showcasing the terroir of the Southern Rhône. While the grapes for the wine come from ... [...]
July 4, 2025 8

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Allons Enfants!

While I am one day late for the 4th of July, we have a whole week to prepare for the Fête de la Bastille, which makes much more sense when writing about French wines, n’est-ce pas? Allons enfants! Let’s celebrate!

For the recipe this month, I combined a modern American recipe for “beer can chicken” with some very nice French ingredients, also making it a perfect Bastille Day meal. Please check out my recipe for Champagne Roast Chicken on Cocoa & Lavender. I paired it with a Famille Perrin... [...]
May 3, 2025 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

The Blue Oak

I picked up a bottle of Chêne Bleu Aliot recently. I have known about the experience of Chêne Bleu Winery — the wine, the food, the hospitality — for a long time but have never had the opportunity to take part. At least until now. While I am not sitting beneath their eponymous blue oak, I can happily imagine it. I called Towny, my culinary copain, to ask his thoughts on a pairing for this wine. The two of us went right to... [...]
February 28, 2025 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

The Weight of Wine

For something new and different, Susan and I tasted this month’s wine together online from across the country (check out our tasting video HERE), and then I made a plan for the menu. It was a really fun way to do this and we hope to do it more in the future.

The menu ended up being for a recipe I have been working on for a while, and I think I finally got it right for this pairing. (See more below.) Lamb Steaks with Olive Sauce... [...]
February 1, 2025 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

A Well-Traveled Tavel

Today’s pairing was a bit tricky. At first glance, my Duck Teriyaki recipe looks like an easy shot. Many rosés pair perfectly with Asian cuisine and that is what I thought, too. But when you examine the teriyaki glaze I created, you will see three different Asian wines in the mix (sake, mirin, and xiaoxing) and, to me, that tends to wreak havoc on a wine... [...]
October 4, 2024 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

In the Mood

Lust und Laune translates to Desire and Mood. Isn’t that perfect for a rosé? A desire for a refreshing sip of something pink… A laid back summer mood…

When Susan and Towny tasted today’s wine with us during a zoom dinner last week, they sat by the fireside and were definitely desiring anything resembling summer. We, however, in Arizona were coping with temperatures that continue to hover at 106°F/41°C. Oof. The mood here was not good. But the rosé was so refreshing that we forgot that the mercury was skyrocketing… [...]
September 7, 2024 4

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Feeling Guilty

Today’s wine is outstanding. It is nothing that I expected and yet everything I wanted. And I feel a little bit guilty because it’s a truly fine wine and I served it with a cod cake. Yes, a cod cake. But do trust me that it’s not a “lowly” cod cake; it’s a really wonderful cod cake. In fact, I called them Oh My Cod [Cakes]. You can get the recipe on... [...]
July 5, 2024 6

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Rose | Rosé, The Sequel

Here I am again pairing rosé with rose flavors, even though there is no correlation. Today’s preparation could not be more different from my Chicken Ispahan back in February. While the rose flavor in that dish was front and center, it is incredibly subtle in today’s recipe and I highly recommend that you give it a go. It is Cailles aux Roses... [...]
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