Hot Chilean Pairings: 4 Wines from Chile with Quinoa Citrus Salad, Empanadas, Cazuela de Vacuna

4 from Chile

In 2023, Wine Predator is visiting South America, starting with Chile. While I’m looking at getting there personally, I’ll certainly be traveling there with my palate, taking on a different aspect of South American wine every month with the World Wine Travel group of wine writers. While our first stop is Chile, we’ll also be visiting Uruguay for red, white, and tannat, Argentina for Malbec and more, and returns to Chile to focus on organic wine in April, coastal wine in June, and Carmenere in November.  Not really sure exactly all of the stops on our itinerary or when they’ll take place, but I’m excited to dive in and share the wines and the menus that go with them starting with a range of four Chilean wines with three classic dishes– with recipes for two of them! Continue reading

Range of Rhône Wines Provide Delightful Diversity Paired with Citrus Salad and Instant Pot Cassoulet

Simple Citrus Salad paired with Côtes du Rhône

Looking to enjoy French wine on a budget? France’s Rhône Valley Wines offer excellent values in reds, whites, and rosés that also provide a diversity of grapes and complex flavor profiles.  Crisp and refreshing whites and rosés work well with winter citrus salads, seafood, and chicken.  Red blends pair with heartier and richer fair including stews, braised meats like lamb shank, and my favorite, cassoulet Continue reading

2 Organic Red Sparklers: In 2023, Check Out These New-to-US-Wines from Italy’s Cantina de Frignano

2 Organic Wines from Cantina de Frignano paired with Sicilian style pizza

Tiny Cantina de Frignano in Emilia-Romagna produces around 22k bottles, at most 2k cases a year. While quite small, they grow a wide variety of organic grapes, specializing in a few which grow nowhere else in the world, Continue reading

An Intro to Five of Sicily’s Native Grapes and Its Unique Cuisine Inspires Island Dreams #ItalianFWT

Five of Sicily’s Native Grapes

An active volcanic island off the toe of the boot of Italy, Sicily is surrounded by the sea. 

These two factor into the origin of Sicily’s native grapes, but it’s the combination of island’s location just over a mile from Italy and less than 100 miles from Africa that make the cuisine unique.

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Shaking Hands Through A Glass: Reflections on 2022

 

I was sick, sick, sick all of fall of 2022.  At least that’s what it seemed like. After almost three COVID years of avoiding people and wearing masks, it’s as if this cold and flu season has hit us with a vengeance. There’s even a name for it: “immunity debt.” Honestly, I’m still coughing, which is hard because I am typically a robust, healthy, strong, active, and fit person. Like just about everyone else, I hate being sick. It’s annoying. It’s exhausting. I want to get on with my life. 

Worse, when I’m sick, usually wine tastes bad. Coffee too, but that’s not a problem for someone who writes about wine as often as I do. 

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