Yearly Archives: 2013
The Corner of Thinkable and Drinkable: 3 Views of Frasca and Scarpetta
Last year I attended a very memorable lunch at Seattle’s The Coterie Room featuring the food of Frasca and the wines of Scarpetta. (Check out the recap.) Restaurant and winery owners Bobby Stuckey (the sommelier) and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson (the chef) held court, both equally entertaining and inspiring. So it was with great pleasure that I recently [More]
Discovering Brazilian Sparkling Wine in New York
Confession: I’ve never had a wine from Brazil, let alone a Brazilian sparkling wine. But, thanks to a blogger event sponsored by Snooth, I am off to New York for a weekend of seminars, as well as to attend the People’s Voice Wine Awards Grand Tasting. Besides getting to know the wines of Brazil, I’ll [More]
Hipsters, Horses, Skin Contact, and the Wines of Chile
While on a recent blogger trip to sample the wines of Chile, I had the added bonus of seeing a city that really impressed me on my previous visit: Valparaiso. Above the city you can wander the streets and come across all kinds of fascinating graffiti and street art. (Check out my slide show for [More]
Wine on Airlines: Will Ferrell, Graham Greene, and Sekt on Lufthansa
Wine on airlines? My typical perspective: nothing like having a captive audience to make the unremarkable palatable. Recently I flew Lufthansa on an international flight (to head to Spain on a sponsored trip with Segura Viudas) and was impressed with a couple offerings. The first was a French white wine, the 2011 Reserve de la [More]
Red Obsession: A Conversation about Bordeaux, China, and Culture
I intended this post to be a review of the documentary RED OBSESSION (and one will be forthcoming). It concerns one of the most talked-about topics in the wine business: the rise of China in the international market and its penchant for top-flight Bordeaux. These wines cost thousands of dollars per bottle, and are being [More]
Italian Sparkling Wine is Festive and Delightful
What’s all the fuss about Italian sparkling wine, specifically Prosecco, Lambrusco, and Moscato d’Asti? The lastest episode of my Wine Without Worry podcast makes a return trip to Italy to find out. My guest is the charismatic Brian Larky, who I last saw on a January press trip with Jarvis Communications. So who is Brian? [More]
Sparkling Spanish Wine: A Trip to Cava Country
Loyal readers will know of my penchant for bubbles, and sparkling Spanish wine is no exception. That’s why I’m really excited to be headed to Spain to check out its contribution to sparkling wine: Cava. I’ll be visiting Segura Viudas (who is the sponsor of this media trip) in Penedès, near Barcelona. And as a [More]
Perucchi Vermouth Gran Reserva Deserves a Hand
I’ve been slightly geeking out on vermouth ever since I tried Imbue, made in Oregon. Which is why it was wonderful to discover (and hold) the distinctly delicious Perucchi Vermouth Gran Reserva. This Spanish vermouth has a finish that reminds me of Amaro, the bitter (in a good way) Italian post-dinner sipper. But the Perucchi [More]
