Domaine Bousquet Charmat Brut Rosé
Happy Earth Day Every Day! This year, we’re saying cheers to our planet with a picnic in the park with Domaine Bousquet Charmat Brut Rosé: vegan, gluten-free, sustainable, made with respect for human and environmental rights as certified by Fair for Life, and certified organic by Ecocert.
All those certifications take time and money, but they are worth it says Domaine Bousquet co-owner, Anne Bousquet: Continue reading
French wines and tacos
Easter and French wine, oui! Easter and French wine and TACOS? Que c’est ridicule! or is that si, señora? While it might sound questionable, a taco bar is a fun way to feed a large gathering, and we already know we LOVE chicken mole tacos with Bordeaux wines, and shrimp tacos with French rose, so why not a taco bar for Easter with instant pot Barbacoa, fried shrimp and lobster bites, marinated chicken, and grilled fish? Continue reading
2 organic Malbec from Argentina
Why is “Malbec World Day” celebrated on April 17? Because on this day in 1853, President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento of Argentina tasked French soil expert Michel Aimé Pouge with transforming the Argentine wine industry with new grape varietals, including Malbec. “Malbec World Day” started as “Día Mundial del Malbec” or “Malbec throughout the world”. Continue reading
Alavida
“L’chaim!” is a Hebrew toast meaning “To life!” The new wine “Alavida” from Argentina’s Domaine Bousquet celebrates life in several languages right there on the label. Its name plays off the Spanish “A la vida!” which also means “To life!” If you’re looking for a wine that’s organic AND kosher AND affordable, meet Alavida, Argentina’s first USDA-certified organic and kosher wine, one of only a few wines worldwide to achieve this unusual status that’s also vegan, gluten-fee, and Ecocert-approved, and now in the US just in time for the first night of Passover tomorrow, Friday April 15, 2022, and Malbec Day Sunday April 17.
2021 Domaine Bousquet “Alavida” Malbec, Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina
Freixenet Mexico Finca Sala Vivé Vina Dona Dolores Brut Reserva with fried lobster and shrimp as part of a taco bar
- Is it Cava if it’s made by one of the largest Cava makers in Spain?
- Is it Cava if it’s made by Spanish winemaker Lluis Raventós?
- Is it Cava if it’s made with 50% Macabeau, 50% Xarel-lo, two of the main varietals in Cava?
- Is it Cava if it’s made in MEXICO?
- If you’re a fan of Cava, the affordable, available sparkling wine made in the traditional method in Spain, you will love Freixenet’s sparkling wine made from commonly used Cava grapes grown at 7000′ elevation just north of Mexico City.
I was this many years old when I learned that grapes are grown and wine is made in the main part of Mexico.– including sparkling wine! While I had tasted wine from Baja on trips there in Valle de Guadalupe Continue reading
(Updated 4/12/22 with pre-order info). Steve Beckmen says when growing grapes, he lets them be what they will be, and when making wine, he lets the wine do what it is going to do. His vineyards look different than what’s expected and that’s fine by him because healthy vines lead to delicious naturally made wines. Demeter certified in 2009, the Santa Ynez family owned and operated biodynamic leader Beckmen Vineyards continues to experiment and learn from the vines to make the best biodynamic and most natural wines possible. These are just a few of the reasons why Beckmen Vineyards is in Slow Wine Guide USA and received the prestigious SNAIL award from the Slow Wine Guide in the new 2023 edition which can be pre-ordered here NOW and will be released in a few weeks. Three of their wines are included in the Guide, and all three were nominated for “Slow” wine awards– but only one is allowed!
A draft of the Slow Wine Guide “Snail” designation reads: “A Ballard Canyon benchmark, Beckmen’s biodynamic farming and acclaimed wines make it a winner.”
In April, we invited our fellow wine writers to discover the wines of the Italian edition of Slow Wine Guide — or to write about wines that deserve to be included paired with a menu that evokes also the ethos of the “Slow Food” movement. The Slow Wine Guide for Italy reviews more than 2,500 wines and 300 wineries offering a comprehensive guide of Italian wines available in three languages: German, Italian, and English.
cover to Slow Wine Guide 2022 edition
This May we invite fellow wine writers to learn more about the wineries of Slow Wine Guide USA; the new edition can be preordered NOW from Amazon here and comes out in May and will be widely available in stores, at wineries, and online. Details on how to join us and more about Beckmen’s wines follow. Continue reading
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 