Cocoa & Lavender

June 6, 2025 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Seeking Simplicity

I make a lot of complicated food; I enjoy the challenge. However, every once in a while, I need to kick back and make something simple. And that is just what I did this week — seared Elk Medallions with Sautéed Mushrooms. Admittedly, I complicated it a bit by adding a red wine sauce. Did I have a choice? In the words of Nathan Lane... [...]
May 4, 2024 4

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Blending In

I’m a sucker for a good red blend. And looking at today’s blend — especially the Graciano, Tempranillo, and Monastrell (more commonly known in France as Mourvèdre)— you might think I’d slipped into Spain from Provence. Instead, think New Spain, as in Arizona. While it was then only a small part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which also included parts of... [...]
March 1, 2024 3

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

How Could I Forget?

Dining chez Susan and Towny is, well, an incredible treat. Not only due to the exquisite food, mind you, but because of the wine. Whatever I make, they have the perfect wine to pair. And this month’s selection is truly exceptional.

I made something for them which I can make in my sleep. In fact, until I made it for them, I hadn’t even written it down as... [...]
February 2, 2024 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Rose | Rosé

It isn’t often that I have the opportunity to share a very special wine of this ilk. And when that does happen, it needs an incredibly special dish to pair with it. The bottle was a magnum of Château Léoube Singulier and it is, indeed, a singular wine. Susan and I decided this would be a good Valentine’s post, so I created a new dish: Chicken Ispahan, based on a famous Pierre Hermé pastry of the same name. Flavors — perfect for your Valentine — include rose, raspberry, and lychee. You can get the recipe on Cocoa & Lavender... [...]
November 4, 2023 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Club Med

One thing I love about wines from Provence is that they tend to pair very well with many Mediterranean foods. Like Spanish cuisine, for example. For today’s post, I paired a 2021 Bieler Père & Fils Bandol with an Arroz con Pollo, a cousin to Valencia’s paella. The recipe is one I watched Jacques Pépin cook on television more than 30 years ago… [...]
October 6, 2023 1

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Lavender and Rosé

If anyone were to ask me to describe summer in Provence, the two things that come to mind first are lavender and rosé; I cannot imagine the area without either. But, in an unusual twist, today’s rosé comes from the Lodi Mokelumne River region of California — Acquiesce Winery’s 2022 Grenache Rosé. To accompany this wine, I created... [...]
February 4, 2023 4

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Springing into Spring!

As we turn our thoughts to spring, there are foods and wines that come to mind immediately. On the food side of things, my mind turns to spring vegetables: asparagus, peas, fava beans. For wine, I find it time to leave the wintry red wines for a while and focus on the crisp, bright, floral whites. That isn’t to say I don’t enjoy a red with a... [...]
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