|
|
|
Notes from Wine Country
|
 |
|
|
Author: |
Lorena |
Created: |
6/14/2007 |
|
|
Food, wine. Travel. Spirits, beer, reasons to celebrate...sort of like life. Only in a blog. |
|
|
How to get here from there |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/28/2010
|
|
|
|
This very cool bit of information came from a poster created by Alexander Valley Vineyards (which also has some very good wines, which is probably more to the point. Regardless, it's a gorgeous poster, hanging in our wine sales director's office, and one of the wine supervisors clued me in on this.).
One Acre of Vineyard
= 5 tons of grapes
...
|
 |
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Italy |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/27/2010
|
|
|
|
Italy also has some hard-to-read wine labels unless you know what you're looking at. Here's a brief primer on Italian regions (important to know) and their principal grapes, with thanks to West Coast Wine Supervisor Bill Stobbs for the info.
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Serving wine |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/26/2010
|
|
|
|
Last week we discussed restaurant wine lists. This is a follow up to that—and thanks to our wine marketing manager Shayne Hebert for the details.
Once you have established a menu, whether at your favorite local bistro, a Michelin-starred restaurant or at home, choosing wine is the next logical step. Serving fine wine can be as basic or as elaborate as you wish, but probably the level of pomp and circumstance you aim for should match the quality and detail of the menu. Simple burgers on the grill paired with a nice Cotes-du-Rhone can be wonderful, but fine crystal stemware and a decanter is really more than the picnic calls for. Pop the cork, spill the wine into a tumbler, and enjoy.
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Thinking inside the box? |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/25/2010
|
|
|
|
Quick! What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone says “wine in a box”?
Yeah, that’s what we thought. In America, the prevailing wisdom seems to be that wine in a box isn’t really wine—it’s some sort of other substance made from fermented grapes that loosely resembles wine, but isn’t really. Wine, after all, starts out in a barrel, and ends up in a bottle.
However, what is already common in Australia, and a trend in Europe, may not be long in being an established fact of life here.
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
German Riesling/food pairings |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/21/2010
|
|
|
|
The balance of sugar and acidity in German Rieslings means that overall, it's a very food-friendly wine. It's a simple go-to if there is spicy food on the menu (think Thai food with a crisp Kabinett, with its lime-accented flavors), as well as traditional German cuisine.
Since a lot of Rieslings have a fairly low alcohol content, they're especially good for Florida's climate. The drier Rieslings are great nicely chilled as an aperitif, or with hors d'oeuvres (spicy shrimp, yummm). Off-dry wines are for meals--salads (especially seafood salads), Asian dishes, or meals where there's a lot of contrasting flavors, like Thanksgiving dinner. Break out the Spatlese, here.
Save the sweeter wines--Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Eiswein--for dessert. Either on their own as dessert, or with it. Just remember to keep the wine sweeter than the dessert food so it doesn't taste bitter. Fruit and cheese do nicely if you must have something beyond the wine it ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Notes on German wines |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/20/2010
|
|
|
|
Think you can't tell one German wine from another by looking at them? Here's a primer on how to read the label and what the different sweetness levels are. This is the simple version--there's really a lot more to it, but this will give you a good start on understanding what you're looking at. Tomorrow we'll talk about what you'll want to eat with German wines. And huge thanks to West Coast Wine Supervisor Bill Stobbs, East Coast/South Florida Wine Supervisor Paul Quaglini and Wine Marketing Manager Shayne Hebert for supplying the information. Any misatkes are mine, not theirs. And as always, there are exceptions to every rule, but here are the basic rules.
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
De-mystifying wine labels |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/19/2010
|
|
|
|
Understanding wine labels is one sure way to know what type of wine you are getting, but unfortunately, no two labels are created equal. Although many wine labels will tell you where the wine came from, along with other less important bits of information, this in itself is little help in discovering what the wine is like. Here are some tips to make it a little bit easier.
Fortunately, most new-world wine producing regions, such as the United States, Australia and South America, use what is called “varietal labeling.” This is simply that the winery names the grape type right there, in big letters, on the label. Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, great! This is easy! Then all you have to know is what kind of wine you like o ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
De-mystifying the restaurant wine list |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/18/2010
|
|
|
|
Choosing a bottle of wine to complement your dinner from the list at your local mom and pop restaurant is easy--a few choices, mostly popular brands and always safe. But does being confronted with the phone book sized list at the fancy French bistro make you dizzy, sweat beading up on your brow before you have even opened the book? Relax! Picking wine from a list should be easy, and fun.
Fortunately, most restaurants have a wine waiter, called a Sommelier, or at least someone on the staff knowledgeable enough to purchase wines for the list--wines which are chosen to complement the style of food served, as well as take into consideration popular brands, trends and wine styles. And most sommeliers are much nicer than in the movies. They l ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Viera Tasting on January 13, 2009 |
|
|
By Lorena on
1/15/2010
|
|
|
|
Here are some snapshots from the Tasting event at our Viera store on January 13.
Join us at our next Tasting event in your area! Click here for ABC's calendar of events.
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes from Wine Country
|
|
|
|
|
|