Looking for affordable Bordeaux wines to share with friends and family for the holidays? How about an affordable sparkling wine from Bordeaux? Sparkling wine is made all over France in the Traditional Method, not just in the northern region of Champagne. Made anywhere else but Champagne, sparkling wine from France is called Crémant (French for creamy referencing the creamy bubbles), and while the Southeast has several well known examples, Bordeaux wineries make Crémant also– and it’s surprisingly affordable!
For your next gathering, consider clinking different by pairing bubbles from Bordeaux with a she crab bisque, a green salad, and a selection of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. These two Crémant would also be wonderful wines for brunch.
“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.” from My Life in France.
“One of the secrets of cooking is to learn to correct something if you can, and bear with it if you cannot.” from My Life in France.
“Well, all I know is this—nothing you ever learn is really wasted, and will sometime be used.”
“The more you know, the more you can create. There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.”
“To be a good cook you have to have a love of the good, a love of hard work, and a love of creating.”
We should enjoy food and have fun. It is one of the simplest and nicest pleasures in life.”
Why Julia Child of course! And today we have a Julia Child inspired menu of classic French dishes (with recipes!) paired with three wines from Bordeaux, France.
Are you ready to explore the wine and cuisine of The Jura? An area near the French Alps east of Burgundy, adjacent to Italy and Germany, and where The Jura Mountains line the border between Switzerland and France, the word “Jura” derives from juria, a Latinized form of the Celtic jor meaning”forest”, and refers to the French department of Jura, the Swiss Canton of Jura, AND the geologic time period, the Jurassic— because this limestone strata was first identified in the Jura Mountains. With its waterfalls and walking trails, the mountainous scenic area is popular with hikers and skiers too. The distinctive wine and food of The Jura may be popular also but it may not be for everyone. Is it for you?
Everyone says Alsace is full of picturesque Alpine villages, and that I must go there. The streets are walkable and quaint, the architecture as adorable as if Walt Disney had designed it, the food delicious, the wines delightful. Continue reading →
The Loire Valley in France offers languid riverside paths for walking and cycling, storybook castles for exploring and staying, forests for hunting deer and mushrooms, gravelly shoreline and hillside vineyards for wine grape growing, deep limestone caves for living, staying, and storing wine, plus lush fields for cultivating vegetables and raising livestock. Continue reading →
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 