This month I decided to do something a little different with our challenging wine pairing. Rather than do the usual pairing with a meal, we decided to do a pairing with a dessert. German chocolate pie is something that I’ve used many times as the dessert with our tasting dinners. On most occasions, I have [...]

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2008 Mission St. Vincent Bordeaux Rouge from the Bordeaux region of [...]

The holidays always get me in the mood for sparkling wine. On Friday evening, we decided to get a jumpstart on the holiday season by featuring Champagne in our 101st wine tasting dinner. Champagne is the most well-known sparkling wine in the world, and it can only be called Champagne if it is produced in [...]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is right bank. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Right bank is an expression much used of that part of the Bordeaux wine region that is on the right bank, or north, of the river Dordogne. It includes, travelling down river, Cotes de Castillon, [...]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is left bank. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Left bank is an expression for that part of the Bordeaux wine region that is on the left bank of the river Garonne. It includes, travelling down river, Graves, Sauternes, Barsac, Pessac-Leognan, Medoc, and all [...]

Crepes, which originated in France, serve a variety of purposes. While many people may think of these thin pancakes for sweet dishes, they are just as popular for savory recipes. Here in Seattle, the weather has not been as warm as it usually is at this time of year. Nevertheless, it is summertime so I [...]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is Loire. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Loire is France’s most famous river and name of one of its most varied wine regions whose wines are greatly appreciated locally and in Paris, but—with the famous exceptions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume—are still widely underrated [...]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is Rhone. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Rhone is one of the most important wine rivers, linking a range of vineyards as dissimilar as those of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in southern France, sparkling Seyssel, and Fendant du Valais in Switzerland. In wine circles, however, the [...]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is Burgundy. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Burgundy, known as Bourgogne in French, is the province of eastern France famous for its great red and white wines produced mostly from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes respectively. The province includes the viticultural regions of [...]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is Bordeaux. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Bordeaux is an important French port on the Garonne river leading to the Gironde estuary on the west coast. Bordeaux gives its name to a wine region which includes the vineyards of the Gironde département and, [...]