by Ron Kapon
When I told my friends that I was spending a January week in Southern California they asked me where I was going. I was flying in and out of Los Angeles to visit friends and then spending 4 days in Palm Desert staying with another friend. In between I would be spending a day in Temecula. I got a lot of blank stares. Where the heck is Temecula and why are you going there? Here is your answer. In 1820 mission vineyards were established 18 miles east of Temecula at Mission San Juan Capistrano. In the early 19th century the California wine industry was located in Southern California. That area supplied most of the wines that came out of California until it was supplanted by Northern California as the wine production center of the state. In 1974 Callaway Winery was founded by the late Eli Calla...
by Chef David Darugh
Ever feast on the tender asparagus flavored stalks of Solomon’s seal; the exalted and elusive morel mushroom, or the succulent coiled fronds of the woodland fern? It’s time to remind your senses why the traditional wild ingredients of Appalachian cuisine are now the hallmark of culinary innovation in restaurants across the country – and even around the world. But, be forewarned, foraging for wild foods is thorny, itchy, muddy, prickly, sticky, snaky and sometimes toxic work. As early hominids did their homework on foraging they learned the hard way about the laxative properties of the senna plant, and to only eat poke weed that is cooked and then only in the early spring. Through this trial and the occasional fatal error, our ancestors sorted the edible from the inedible, the useful ...
by Lori Budd
I guess you can take the girl out of science (since I now teach Physical Education) but you can’t take the science out of the girl. My undergrad and graduate degrees in Biology and the way too many years as a microbiologist are ingrained in me. Although I don’t deal with science on a day to day basis anymore, I actually really do still love the topic. Using my wonderful Blogshelf ii iPad app, I now subscribe to about thirty blogs. Although most are about wine, I have sneaked in a few about sports (Go Fins, Rangers, Nets, and Mets) and several about science, genetics being my love.When I taught AP Biology, I always got a little happier when it came to the point of the school year where we talked about genetics. Think about it. Without going into real detail, it is amazing that you...
by Frank Whitman
I’m told that wine is made in all 50 states. Although it’s hard to imagine the wine country in some states - cold North Dakota or hot Arizona for instance - grapes are very adaptable. Almost 90 percent of American wine comes from the west coast. In the Northeast, New York is the big producer.Connecticut has a thriving if modest wine industry that merits a look. More than 30 wineries across the state make intriguing reds, refreshing whites, and distinctive fruit wines. The grape varieties may be new to you, but the wines are worthy of your attention and conveniently close to the New York Metro area. The New England climate is a little cool for the traditional European wine grapes, but grapes such as Riesling, Seyval Blanc, Pinot Gris and Cabernet Franc like it that way. The majority ...
by Andrew John Chalk
by Andrew Chalk photos by Robert BostickWe have reported that the Roussanne grape does well in Texas’s climate and soil and pondered whether it is the next breakthrough Texas grape. The answer will come when Texas Roussanne wines match the quality of Roussanne wines from California. In order to find out how they are doing, I organized a blind tasting open to all Texas Roussanne producers. Nearly all of them submitted two bottles of their current offering.We knew that Roussanne is much less widely made than Viognier, the premier white grape in the state. Nonetheless, we got participation from a total of six wineries who provided nine different wines. Submissions had to comply with the Federal rule that at least 75% of the grapes in the bottle must be the variety that appears on the label...
by Jerry Greenfield
What's Up in Santa Barbara!byThe Wine Whisperer™You may recall that the hit movie "Sideways" chronicles the misadventures of two old college buddies who spend a week playing golf and drinking wine in the vineyard country west of Santa Barbara, about two hours north of Los Angeles. Since I had never been to that area, everything I knew about it (or thought I knew) was gleaned from what I saw in the film.Boy, was I misinformed. A trip out there last year was something of a revelation: good and not-so-good. I foolishly thought, because of the movie, that everybody who made wine in Santa Maria and Santa Ynez spent all their time growing, crushing, and bottling Pinot Noir. Not so. They grow an amazing variety of wine grapes, including Spanish, Italian, and French types, that I never expect...
by Andrew John Chalk
by Andrew ChalkIn 1976, wine experts blind-tasted some of the most storied wines from France against similar styles from upstart California in. The mainly-French expert jury in what came to be known as The Judgement of Paris announced the California wines to be the winners. It was a shot heard round the world (I remember it being reported on the front page of British newspapers at the time) and California wine’s time on the global stage had come.One of the most remarkable victories in a set of remarkable victories was in the white wine category. A 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay came top, beating out four Burgundies. That wine was made by a young croatian-American, Mike Grgich. No flash-in-the-pan, Grgich won the Great Chardonnay Showdown in 1980 with the very first vintage (1977) of...
by Jess Andrenelli
Many people do not associate Vietnamese food with wine but think again. First what makes Vietnamese food special? It’s those fragrant elements which play an important role in just about every dish in the Vietnamese cuisine canon. Each dish could really have its own bottled fragrance. L’eau de Pho would be redolent of mint, cilantro, lemongrass, garlic, star anise, and ginger, with long-simmered beef bones, tear-inducing chilies, and the essential drops of fish sauce. If you are thinking of Vietnamese food for dinner be adventurous and order at least half a dozen different dishes and share with friends over a selection of wine. Now what would be the perfect wine to pair with these fragrant dishes?The use of exotic spices like star anise and richly sweet hoisin sauce make a sparkling Ros...
by Sam Schmitt, Csw
Malolactic fermentation is an often misunderstood technique in a winemaking. Most popularly associated with rich, buttery, and frequently over-oaked Chardonnay, many wine drinkers have inappropriately concluded that malolactic fermentation is a cheap wine making trick used by California Chardonnay producers to artificially fatten-up their wines. The truth, however, is that malolactic fermentation is an important wine making technique that is critical to both the flavor profile and body of a wine.Malolactic fermentation is a bit of a misnomer because it isn’t really a true fermentation process at all. True fermentation is the conversion of sugar into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and heat. In wine making this is usually achieved through yeast metabolism. Malolactic fermentation (ML) is th...
by Jerry Greenfield
As we all know, Bordeaux is one of the world’s favorite winegrowing regions…and certainly one of the world’s most famous. Bordeaux, in the southwest corner of France, has historically produced wines of surpassing elegance and refinement. And expense.A lot has happened to the wines of Bordeaux in the last several years. Mainly, the prices have gone into the stratosphere. Not long ago, we could buy premium wines from the finest chateaux for $200 or $300 a bottle. Sounds like a lot, but it’s a paltry sum compared to what they’re charging now. Today, for a so-called First Growth Bordeaux (like Lafite Rothschild or LaTour) you’re looking at dipping into your kid’s college fund for $1,000 a bottle and up. Ouch.Have the wines become that much better? Are they worth the price...
