Red beans and rice is a favorite “Louisiana” dish. It is a traditional Creole dish; however, over the years, it has become very generally used by everyone. It is just as popular in restaurants as in homes. Red beans and rice originated out of the need for an easy meal on “washday” in the Creole [...]

We spent Labor Day Weekend visiting the Walla Walla Valley AVA. The Walla Walla Valley AVA was established in 1984 as Washington State’s third AVA. It encompasses areas in both Washington and Oregon. When you are visiting wineries and vineyards in the valley, it is easy to forget which state you are in. The lines [...]

The Pines Vineyard, located the The Dalles, Oregon, is home to some of the oldest vines in the Northwest. Their Old Vine Zinfandel vines are over 100 years old. On our trip to the Columbia Gorge earlier this summer, we toured The Pines Vineyard with owner Lonnie Wright. History Louis Comini, an Italian stone mason [...]

Maryhill Winery, located in Goldendale, Washington, is perched on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River Gorge with Mt. Hood in the distance. Founded in 1999 by Craig and Vicki Leuthold, Maryhill’s production has grown from 4,300 cases in 1999 to over 80,000 cases today, making it the 15th largest winery in Washington State. The winery [...]

This past weekend, Dad (John), Colby, and I spent three jam-packed days in Walla Walla, Washington, for the third annual North American Wine Bloggers Conference. We were joined by over 300 fellow wine bloggers, wine industry participants, and media members for tastings, keynote addresses, breakout sessions, and visits to local vineyards and wineries. [See the [...]

5:00pm It’s Day 2 here at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington. We are just about to begin the Live Wine Blogging – Red Wines segment featuring wines poured for us by the winemakers themselves. Just like yesterday, we will update this post as we go. 5:05pm 2007 Sequel Syrah [Long Shadows] (Columbia [...]

We spent Memorial Day Weekend visiting the Columbia Gorge AVA. The Columbia Gorge AVA was established in 2004. It runs along the Columbia River and encompasses areas in both Washington and Oregon. The area boasts gorgeous views, numerous outdoor recreation options, quality vineyards, excellent wines, and very friendly folks. We arrived in Hood River, Oregon, [...]

Dusi Vineyard is located in west Templeton, California, in the Paso Robles AVA. The Dusi family is well-known for growing top-notch Zinfandel, which is considered the heritage variety of Paso Robles because it had a strong influence on the growth and development of the local wine industry. Sylvester and Caterina Dusi immigrated to the United [...]

Located along the Central Coast halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Paso Robles is California’s third largest and fastest growing wine region. The town of Paso Robles (“Paso” to the locals) is the heart of Paso Robles wine country. The Paso Robles AVA was established in 1983 and has expanded a couple of times [...]

While my family and I do not eat much pork, we do enjoy it on occasion. As I started planning another challenging wine pairing meal, I remembered the garlic seasoned broiled pork chops that my aunt used to make. I cannot remember the last time that I had a pork chop, but the more I [...]