by Sidd Banerji
1st Nov.’11Prize winning wine producer Brancaia from Tuscan region,Italy are comparatively new in the wine world.The Swiss family,if not ‘the only’in the region,started in 1982 and shall thus complete their first 30 years, in next.Die hard commitments to quality, an ingrained element of Swiss, took them to heights of achievements within initial years. They witnessed a vertical take off right in 1983 winning the coveted first place, at Chianti Classico tasting.They did not look back thereafter.The brand has been occupying positions within first 100 all these years at major tasting sessions.Few years,within first 10.A laudable achievement.The owners spared no stones and continued with their identity and strongly held principles of ‘understanding their clients’ and ‘understanding ...
by Rosie Carbo
Now I understand why Julio Iglesias paid tribute to Galicia in his memorable hit song, “Un Canto a Galicia” in the 1980s. If you have never been to Spain,forget the popular cities and head for northwest Spain. My mission was to savor the wines from Rias Baixas, one of five distinct appellations christened denominacion de origen (D.O.) as recently as 1988. But I fell in love with the whole region, including the wine regions of Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras and Monterrei. I saw all but Rias Baixas at a distance. TurExpo, a local organization dedicated to promoting this emerald-colored region of Spain, had teamed with the national tourist office to invite journalists from China, Russia and the United States to experience Galicia through its annual travel expo. Unfortunately, our...
by Sidd Banerji
The day long wine tasting event,on Monday,24th Oct'11 at Mumbai's landmark hotel,Taj Lands End,offered by 50 quality Italian wine producers,hosted by Gambero Rosso,the non profit making promotional and umbrella organization from Italy,was an eye openor indeed.On their way to major multi country road shows,Mumbai was their first stopover.Later they proceeded to host the same road show at Singapore,Seoul,Moscow,Sao Paolo and finally at Rio De Janeiro.A heavily programmed promotional tour for Italian wine producers.India having a long standing relation with Italy is receptive to its culture and lifestyle.Appreciation flows both ways on their products and service.The onrush of such a huge number of wine producers all at a time was some thing to be understood,assimilated and taken a note of.Hea...
by Sidd Banerji
The third generation family member and the present Tuscan owner and producer, Massimo Sensi was present to conduct a guided tasting session for the press and other invitees from the trade and hospitality sector. The most striking feature of the total presentation was the sincere and down to ground passionate flavor. Massimo passionately expressed to the audience. He said he was here not only to sell wine but create family bonding amongst his patrons. He explained that this was their worldwide policy. The message he carried was deep and personal, even touching upon some of the personal details about the family. 'I carry such sentiments all through and in every market of ours. The clean and clear atmosphere we maintain, the quality and certification we assure, deserve similar audience. Then ...
by Rosie Carbo
Charlie Arturaola travels the world exalting the wines of La Mancha. But unlike Don Quixote, the main character in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, his impressions of Spain’s dry and vast Castilla-La Mancha region are real.“La Mancha is not only Spain’s largest winegrowing regions, but it is one of the largest winegrowing regions in the world,” Arturaola told a group of wine journalists,sommeliers and members of the wine industry.The world famous sommelier and wine educator wrapped up a nationwide tour with a stop in Dallas recently. Accompanied by 13 prize-winning family-owned wineries from La Mancha, Arturaola presented the facts about this emerging wine region in a wine tasting seminar titled “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: The 3 Faces of La Mancha.”“La Mancha Denominacion ...
by Carol A. Wilcox
Planning an adult Halloween party should be fun! In addition to ghoulish décor, Haunting Music and plenty of Delicious Food, another part of the Halloween party planner process is choosing the right wines. Make no bones about it! Here are some of the best wines from vineyards in the Southwest United States for an adult Halloween party:Vampire Pinot Grigio from Vampire Vineyard in Paso Robles, California has created a line of Vampire and Dracula wines…perfect for an adult Halloween party! This Vampire Pinot Grigio has fresh lime fruit aromas, is easy to drink and refreshing. Serve this “Blood of the Vine” with pasta, chicken, or salads dressed in Blood Orange Vinaigrette. Poizin – A lush, delicious, and “serious” wine from Armida Winery in Healdsburg, California is packaged in ...
by Rosie Carbo
“Do you guys make Italian food? Do you guys make Mexican food? Then, why not Argentine food? Why not Chilean food? There’s still a lack of understanding about the foods from Argentina and Chile. But we have very European style food,” said Chef Liz Caskey, an American who has lived and worked in South America for the past 15 years. In hopes of clearing up some culinary misconceptions about the two countries, more than 50 Houstonians took a vicarious Tour of Argentina and Chile led by Caskey, who in addition to writing a food and wine blog at www.eatwineblog.com , is a cookbook author and tour leader extraordinaire. The evening class at Central Market’s posh Highland Village cooking school involved five, 2-ounce wine samples paired with five bite-sized ser...
by Sidd Banerji
A very pleasant experience these days is to witness wine serving at parties and various gatherings at least in India's main cities.It was not the scene even just a decade ago.Strangely,the bars,the clubs and even within households,wine was a far cry.At rare occasions,wine used to be seen well taken and appreciated.Sweet Port wine used to do at social circles mainly with the ladies as its main patrons.There were never a serious talk with wine as the subject.Well, today starting with major metros like New Delhi,Kolkata, Hyderabad,Bangalore,Chennai,Coimbatore,Cochin,Trivandrum,Goa,Pune and Mumbai the country's vast consumer world is taking deep interest in varieties of wine.The country has simultaneously taken a strong foot forward to cultivate quality produce thru well nurtured vineyards,ov...
by Rosie Carbo
The statewide Texas drought and wildfires didn’t stamp out the desire to savor premium Texas wines at the second annual Houston Wine Festival last weekend.The two-day event, including music and food booths, featured 21 Texas wineries and a host of international wines as well.The popular Texas Hill Country, bounded by Austin and San Antonio, was represented by Grape Creek Vineyards, Texas Legato and Flat Creek Estates. The rest of the Texas wines represented the Piney Woods Wine Trail-east of Dallas-and Houston area wineries.“You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to enjoy wine,” said Barre Bernhardt of Bernhardt Winery while passing out generous-sized samples of his awesome 2010 Pinot Grigio.“This wine is light and fruity with pineapple notes. But what wine tastes like is what ...
by Diana Mccalla
By guest blogger Diana McCalla Though not traditionally thought of as a nutritious food, modern research is establishing cocoa as just that, surprisingly enough, when it is processed properly.Brian Buijsse, MSc, and colleagues report the news in the Archives of Internal Medicine. They studied 470 elderly men for 15 years, tracking the men's cocoa consumption, including chocolate.Cocoa intake was tied to lower blood pressure and reduced death risk, the study shows. Natural compounds in cocoa called flavanols may be the reason, write Buijsse and colleagues.Although there have been a few small intervention studies published, the amount of chocolate in these studies was huge -- in most cases 100 grams, or about 3 1/2 oz., per day.Flavanols are the main type of flavonoid found in cocoa and cho...
