Comforting Montinore’s Biodynamic Lagrein and Teroldego Paired with Instant Pot Italian Pot Roast (recipe)

Montinore and pot roast

As the nights and days cool, and the green leaves go gold and and fall to the ground, our attention turns to comfort food and wine to go with it.

For Sue and I, that means Italian food. Nearing the end of a long Spring under lockdown, when we were released but still concerned, we went for these three red blends made from Italian grape varieties from Four Brix, Lucas and Llewellyn, and Montinore.

Now here we are solidly in Autumn, but at another transition: it’s Election Day, and a good time to once again turn our attention to comfort food and wine, which again means Italian. Later this week, we have Primitivo and Zinfandel from Miraflores in El Dorado, then we compare and contrast a Turley Zinfandel with an Italian Primitivo. We’re pairing these wines with food inspired by The Godfather movies.

But today, we again turn to biodynamic Montinore (and that’s not because, based on all of my friends talking about day drinking today, you can drink more biodynamic wine without getting a hangover!) Continue reading →

Vote

 

In my mask…

Vote. Continue reading →

Sweet for Sweets and 5 Fun Facts for Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry

Everybody’s talking about all of the leftover candy they have because

COVID meant kids didn’t go trick or treating like usual.

Even with ingenious methods of delivery. Continue reading →

Sweet Treats: Warre’s Porto

Warre’s Porto

Even though today is Halloween, I’m not going to suggest wine to pair with candy.

Nope, not doing it.

this witch clearly enjoys Porto! at The Bees Knees located between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay near rural Los Osos, CA

Instead, as the days get dark and cold, and you have a sweet tooth this holiday season, Continue reading →

Interview with Oded Shakked of Longboard plus #MerlotMe with Dakine Vineyard at the Bees Knees

Oded Shakked pours himself a splash of rose in the Longboard tasting room to enjoy during our mid-October 2020 interview.

“My ego is not in the wine,” says Longboard’s Oded Shakked in a recent interview held in his tasting room and winery in Healdsburg. “My passion is in the wine.”

Oded’s passion for wine came about through his passion for surfing. After surfing breaks along the Atlantic Coast in Bordeaux (“there’s big waves in Bordeaux!”), Spain and Portugal, he was the one sent into town to get their jug of wine.

It was a health matter, he explained: Continue reading →

Curious About Carignan?

Carignan: “It’s the perfect blending grape,” says Ridge’s David Gates, that’s “why it’s still around.” According to Gates in a Carignan Day webinar today, Oct. 29, 2020 led by Fred Swan, Carignan brightens acidity, brings out aromas, and pushes fruit flavors forward.

Curious about Carignan? Or is it Carignane? Maybe Cariñena?

Either way you spell it, this “bistro style wine with good tannins but not too much” says Gates, works on its own or blended– and it should show up more often in your glass and mine! Continue reading →

In The Heart of NoCal Wine Country: Sonoma’s Healdsburg Welcomes You #WorldWineTravel

a mural just off the plaza on Plaza Street in Healdsburg

“I am in Healdsburg a few short blocks to the plaza and wineries,” my friend Sandy writes, saying she needs a cat sitter while she’s out of town. “It’s a one bedroom, a duplex in a house from 1895. I have a nice covered porch surrounded by trees and wonderful neighbors. I know you like to travel and do wine things in different areas. All the restaurants seem to be open. I see wine tastings on the sidewalk.” Continue reading →