Winemaker Heather Pyle Lucas at the Lucas Zinstar CCOF (organic certified) old vine vineyard in Lodi
So far this summer, Sue and I crisscrossed California visiting El Dorado County, Lodi, and Santa Barbara County, then I traveled to Oregon on the prowl for a certain type of wine. It’s not red, nor white, nor orange, nor sparkling, nor sweet. In fact, it’s all of the above. What we are looking for is SLOW WINE, wine that will qualify for the Slow Wine Guide, Continue reading
So who’s joining the Wine Pairing Weekend Gang for Brunch on Saturday May 13? And what are we bringing to the table?
Lots of bubbles! And a lot more! Read all about it in the invite; read on to see who’s doing what! Continue reading
“Broken Vine” Lodi Zinfandel
“Honey, can you stop by Ferraros and get some meat sauce?”
When there’s just a little too much going on and you need an easy midweek meal and a glass of wine, what’s your standard response?
That’s the theme for this month’s Wine Pairing Weekend: “My Old Stand By.”
For me, that’s when I call my spouse, or he calls me, and says, “Put the pasta water on!” and we pick up either fresh pesto from Trader Joe’s or meat sauce from our favorite local Italian restaurant, Ferraros, and sometimes both! The person at home throws together either a caesar salad (do a three minute boil on the eggs in the pasta water! surprisingly easy!) or a green salad with Sue’s Simple Gorgonzola Dressing, and we have a delicious, inexpensive dinner in less time than it would take to go out and with only a very few dishes.
The key of course, is to have good quality sauce and pasta plus the right wine! And for us, another standard is to eat and drink as sustainably and organically as possible, something that we care about every day, but we will be pointing out this month because
April is Earth Month and April 22 is Earth Day. Continue reading
Ginger is annoyed that we have yet to OPEN THAT BOTTLE
When I purchased this bottle of Bollinger NV back in 2011 to celebrate Ima Zinner’s birthday, I didn’t realize it would take us six years to open it.
But I wasn’t worried. You’re supposed to cellar wine, right?
WRONG. And somehow I didn’t know until May of 2016 that you don’t cellar Champagne.When Champagne is disgorged and ready for sale, it is ready to be enjoyed. That doesn’t mean you have to drink it that night that you buy it! But you should drink it within a year or two, maybe three.
You’re not supposed to wait SIX YEARS to open a bottle of Champagne!
But somehow that happened. It wasn’t a special enough occasion. Or it we were having red wine to go with red meat or some such. Or it wasn’t cold. One reason or another, it just didn’t happen.
So when Ima Zinner aka Kathy came over the other night, it was Open That Bottle Night, because we knew it was time. Way past time. But was it too late?
That depends! Continue reading
Have you ever tasted wine from New Jersey?
What about Ugni Blanc? Have you ever tasted a wine made with that grape?
For this month’s Wine Pairing Weekend challenge “New Year, New Wine,” Que Syrah Sue and I decided to taste a wine from a new region — New Jersey!– and to taste a wine from grapes that we didn’t think we’d had before. We considered trying a new recipe too but instead decided to explore new Welsh Cheddars along with a menu of favorites. Continue reading
When I heard that the July Wine Pairing Weekend challenge was Sherry Wine, at first I thought: Sherry? Sherry? Really?
What do you pair with SHERRY other than dessert or a fire?
Little did I know! Turns out, there’s quite a lot you can pair with sherry wine, because, like Champagne, Sherry isn’t just a wine for an occasion, it’s a wine to combine with food.
But the fact that Sherry does indeed pair well with food–and not just dessert!– is NOT what got me going on this Wine Pairing Weekend.
Because honestly, when I decided I wanted to do it I had no idea how well it paired and with what until I participated in the Saturday morning #WinePW tweet chat and checked out everyone’s blog posts! (links below)
So what made me decide to participate? Continue reading
Wine Predator Gwendolyn Alley in her grandfather’s cellar with a bottle of his sherry
Quite a few years ago, I was enjoying dinner with then California Poet Laureate Al Young (http://alyoung.org/) at the home of his hosts, the Central Coast poet Glenna Luschei and her husband Bill. Bill found out I appreciated wine and he asked me
“So have you discovered sherry?”
Sherry? I thought to myself. Continue reading
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 