We’ve had our eyes on Robert Ramsay Cellars for quite some time now and have declared it a “Winery to Watch” in the past. With the current releases, Robert Ramsay continues to impress. Robert Ramsay Cellars, located in Woodinville, Washington, is named for winemaker Bob Harris’s great uncle Mason Ramsay. When asked about the name, [...]

Metropolitan Market, founded in 1971, is an award-winning grocery store with six locations in the greater Seattle area. They sell more than 1,200 different wines and beers and have recently added spirits as well. Seattle Magazine has recognized Metropolitan Market as the Grocery Store with the Best Selection of Washington Wines three times. Recently, I [...]

To kick off Oregon Wine Month, the Oregon Wine Board hosted a large-scale tasting event in Portland called Unwine’d, Celebrate Oregon Wine on Sunday. The concept was similar to Seattle’s annual Taste Washington event. The inaugural event featured 100 wineries pouring their wines and 14 restaurants serving small bites. With approximately 450 wineries now open [...]

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 2011 The Crusher Rosé of Pinot Noir from the Clarksburg region [...]

While I generally prefer flavorful but simple-to-prepare recipes, I decided to make Greek moussaka for this month’s challenging wine pairing meal. Although there are short-cut versions, I wanted to follow the standard recipe. Moussaka is a little like lasagna in that there are layers—potatoes, eggplant, cheese, ground lamb (although beef can also be used) with [...]

Founded in 1987 by Champagne Taittinger of France in partnership with Kobrand Corporation, Domaine Carneros is located in the heart of Carneros in California’s Napa Valley. Claude Taittinger, the president of Champagne Taittinger, began searching for a site to open a winery in the United States in the late 1970’s. He selected a site in [...]

It’s football season! So, time, again, to consider meals for watching our favorite teams on television or for tailgating before attending games. Of course, there is a wide choice of favorite foods for these events. However, hot dogs always seems to be a special favorite—easy to prepare, easy to eat, and quite enjoyable. For this [...]

This month’s wine tasting dinner featured six rosé wines from Washington State. It was another fabulous evening of good wine, the company of wonderful friends, and LaGayle’s (Mom’s) excellent food. The wines paired extremely well with our dinner of vichyssoise, crab Louie salad, grilled prawns, grilled vegetables, rice pilaf, and peach and strawberry salad for [...]

This month’s challenging wine pairing was a special treat. Our friends Darren and Mardee invited us over for jerked chicken, and we did our challenging pairing with their fabulous meal. What a beautiful evening in Seattle, out on their deck, eating delicious food, drinking great wine, and spending time with wonderful friends! Jerk is a [...]

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 2010 Barnard Griffin Rosé of Sangiovese from the Columbia Valley of [...]