Entries tagged with 'wine'
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Last week, Serious Grape columnist Deb Harkness stopped by with a few good candidates for refreshing summer wines. Over on her own blog, Good Wine Under $20, she's got another suggestion—the 2008 Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, which "can hold its head up among zingy New Zealand bottlings, but has a bit more softness and is far less assertive."...
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Note: Our own Erin Zimmer just returned from ten days eating and drinking her way around Greece and will be sharing her adventures with us as Snapshots from Greece. —Ed. The Boutari men. More Greek Snapshots Nescafe Frappe Assyrtiko Wine from Santorini Koulouri The Modiano Market in Thessaloniki Fage Yogurt Souvlaki from O Thanasis in Athens The story of Boutari wines sounds a little familiar. It's like a bizarro Greek version of the Mondavi family in California. Two brothers in the wine business who, after experiencing some friction, decide to split off and go their separate ways. In the case of the Mondavi brothers, Robert left Peter and the rest of the family at the Charles Krug Winery to start...
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Editor's note: On Fridays Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 joins us to talk some Serious Grape. Take it away, Deb! As an inveterate grape-hopper, I love finding new grape varieties to tempt my palate and keep me from falling into wine ruts. The stranger and more off-beat the grape, the happier I am. I love discovering grapes like the Eastern European Rkatsiteli or delving deeper into Albariño. There is a price to pay for this eclecticism, however: you can forget to drink the six grapes that provide the backbone for wine production throughout the world. These six "noble grapes"—Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir—have been cultivated all over the world and been made into...
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Note: Our own Erin Zimmer just returned from ten days eating and drinking her way around Greece and will be sharing her adventures with us all week as Snapshots from Greece. —Ed. The Sigalas Winery is one of Santorini's best. Photograph by Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen. When most people think of Greek wines—that is, if they ever think about Greek wines—they think retsina. Sadly, it's been nicknamed alcoholic Pine-Sol since it was first created with pine resin to help boost the shelf life 2,000 years ago. This hasn't been so great for the rest of Greek wines, especially the non-piney, non-sucky ones. Assyrtiko grapes growing on Santorini. On Santorini, one of the Cyclades islands and a hot tourist magnet,...
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Photograph from The Dieline Most Australian winemakers use the "bin system" to number their wines. Brits call their trash cans "bins." Leave it to a UK design firm, then, to make a tongue in cheek visual connection in this series of wine labels....
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Editor's note: On Fridays Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 joins us to talk some Serious Grape. Today, some advice for entertaining this weekend. Take it away, Deb! "If you can't be bothered washing stemware or are worried about fragile stems breaking outside, get yourself some stemless wine glasses." This weekend, at cookouts all over America, people will be drinking wine out of plastic cups. Sometimes, you just have to. Between the breakage issues and the cleanup issues, we can all be forgiven for occasionally serving Chardonnay in plastic tumblers. But the wine will suffer for it. It will have barely any taste, no discernible aromas, and seem tart and slightly vinegary. At a backyard cookout that may matter...
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Welcome to the Weekend Cook and Tell round up. Last week we asked you to play sommelier by picking a bottle of wine for under $12 and making a meal that would pair well with it. Wine pairing isn't always easy, but as usual we've gotten some inspired responses. Cold beer and barbecue are a match made in heaven, but have you tried a hearty Spanish red with barbecued pork ribs? Great combo, pksmash. Cassaendra and her husband aren't big drinkers, but she delved into her stash to come up with this combination of sake and sukiyaki for this week's challenge. Kalajo had all of the ingredients for this pork top loin roast with asparagus, spring onion, and butter lettuce...
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"The thing to think about, most importantly, is to match the weight of your wine with the weight of your food." This week we chat with Matt Skinner, an Australian wine writer and enthusiast, most recently the author of Heard It Through The Grapevine: The Things You Should Know to Enjoy Wine. Name: Matt Skinner Location: Melbourne, Australia Occupation: Wine writer, consultant, and educator How did you become involved in the wine industry at such a young age? I didn’t know at age 17 what I wanted to do with my life. I got a job in a bottle shop, like a liquor store, in Australia. They specialized in selling cases of beer and boxes of wine, nothing glamorous. We...
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Plum wine a-steepin'. Photograph from Umamimart Fermentation is no easy feat, and at-home alcohol projects tend to be pretty tricky. But since these fruit liqueurs start with an alcoholic base such as vodka or soju, they’re a cinch to make yourself. Learn how to make umeshu (plum wine) at Delicious Coma, or try your hand at biwashu (loquat liqueur) with these instructions from Umamimart....
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On Fridays, Deb Harkness (Good Wine Under $20) joins us to talk wine. Take it away, Deb! Photograph from Neeta Lind on Flickr This weekend, it's officially summer. How do I celebrate the longest day of the year? I drink pink. I'm not talking about the White Zinfandels of the 70s. I'm talking about serious rosé wine that is dry or barely off-dry, fruity, and has lots of character. What's more, it is refreshing, pairs well with grilled foods (especially grilled tuna or other meaty fish), and is the perfect partner for hot dogs. You can get some excellent rosés for under $20, too. They're made from all sorts of grapes, and come from all over the world. If you...
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