Cocoa and Lavender

October 7, 2018 0

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
A Gift to Remember

We were gifted this bottle of wine; après tout, wines of this caliber are not in my normal wine budget. It is such a special bottle that it actually made me nervous when it came to pairing it with food.

I fretted for weeks... [...]

September 1, 2018 6

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
The Salt of the Sea

Today’s tasting may be the most unusual I have done. It is a wine that, if blindfolded when tasted, would not have said “rosé” to me, although it wouldn’t have said red or white, either. It has none of the traditional red fruits associated with rosé, nor its distinct floral aromas. On the nose, it is briny... [...]

April 7, 2018 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
And the Oscar Goes to…Fleur de l’Amaurigue

When you prepare for a wine pairing, and you go into it knowing that the wine has already won a Gold at the Concours Général Paris or, as it is known colloquially, the Oscars of wine, your expectations are naturally high.

I am always happy when my expectations are... [...]

March 3, 2018 8

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 [...]

January 6, 2018 4

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 [...]

November 4, 2017 6

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 [...]

August 5, 2017 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
AZ Puts the Pizzazz in Rosé

There I was, minding my own business, sipping a Provence rosé at Revel in Tucson with friends celebrating their engagement. I chose the rosé, of course, and mentioned to server that I was a big rosé fan. By coincidence, the rep from Rune Wines was in that day and, unbeknownst to me, they were tasting Rune’s 2015 rosé. The server brought me a glass “just because.” Apparently, while I was minding my own business, he was paying attention. I was really astonished at the nose, and how unctuous it was on my palate, and how well it paired with our [...]

July 1, 2017 12

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Those Summer Nights

While summer isn't the only season to drink rosé, it is incredibly refreshing on a hot summer evening... and that is something we know well in Tucson. Sometimes, it is so hot in the evening (lately, our temperatures have been hovering at 115°F or 46°C) that we don't want a full meal - perhaps just apéro with some nice wine, a little cheese, and a few friends. With a bottle of the 2015 Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol Rosé chilling, we invited a few friends over for some wine and cheese. Simple. Casual. Relaxed. Early in the morning, while it [...]

May 6, 2017 8

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Flight of Fancy

Three wines; flight of fancy or fancy flight? I say it's both.
It has been a good year in Provence… most specifically, in Cotignac. Jeany and Stephen Cronk, founders of Mirabeau en Provence, situated in Cotignac, sent me the full flight of their rosé wines to create food pairings. All three of the wines won gold medals this year: Pure and Étoile received the 2017 Médaille d'Or in Paris and, in addition, Étoile scored an impressive 92 points form the Wine Enthusiast. The Mirabeau Classic won the 2017 Médaille d'Or at the

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October 1, 2016 10

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Le Vin de Table

Vin de Table. Table wine. We all have our favorites. You know, the wine you drink every day. The one you buy when it's just you, or you and your family. A good, reasonably priced, and readily available table wine. Vin de Table.

Today's wine is just that. La Vieille Ferme rosé can be found in most grocery stores, big box wine stores, and even the occasional boutique [...]

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