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...
by Maria Shultseva
I really enjoy wine tasting events where you can meet the actual winemakers. Yes, terroir is important but so is a winemaker’s personality that shines through and gives wine character. Recently, I’ve been lucky to meet winery owners from Barolo and Barbaresco, Piedmont’s most famous wine appellations. The cosy wine and dine evening was hosted by the Prime Society and Bar together with Italian Wine Club. Mr Claudio from Giacomo Fenocchio winery and Mr Vittorio from Adriano Marco e Vittorio were there to share their wine philosophies and passion. Founded in 1864, Giacomo Fenocchio estate is now being run by Claudio and his brothers. Its vineyards include the three ‘grand crus’ of Barolo DOCG: Bussia in Monforte d’Alba, Villero in Castiglione Falletto and Cannubi in Barolo....
by Maria Shultseva
Often referred to as the king and the queen of Italian wine, Barolo and Barbaresco are unquestionably two great wines. Both made of 100% Nebbiolo grapes and both classified as DOCG (the highest classification for wines in Italy) they are produced in communes that are less than ten miles apart. No wonder the natural question would be: are they "potato, potahto"?It is true that Barolo and Barbaresco share many similarities, yet they are two distinct wines with separate identity. The Nebbiolo variety is generally known for its fierce tannins, red fruits and aromas of tar, roses, licorice and truffles. However, it gets different expression in Barolo and Barbaresco. 'Masculine' Barolo is fatter, more complex and powerful. Its harsh tannins require extended cellaring before Barolo can be approac...
by Laura Ness
J. Lohr On The Rhoneby Laura Ness2014 marks the 40th anniversary of one of the premiere wine labels from the Central Coast, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, named for Jerry Lohr, pioneer in planting vineyards in both Monterey and in Paso Robles. The story begins in the late 1980s, when Lohr saw Paso Robles pioneer, Gary Eberle, having success with Syrah. Lohr planted some as well, making the first South Ridge Syrah vintage in 1993. Rich, pliant and easy to love, it has become one of the winery’s most popular wines. Yes, wine drinkers do love Syrah.Don’t let anyone stop you from buying and drinking Syrah. More people love it than you think. It’s the dirty little secret of wine lovers. Because it’s been en vogue to worship Pinot for the last decade, some folks might have suppressed their i...
by Don Lahey
Looking back at my past 40 years as a wine enthusiast, I can safely say that I’ve seen my fair share of wine tasting parties. A common theme I’ve noticed over the years is that many of the hosts of these parties tend to overthink them, and put too much of the focus on the details. The format of the party, the wine glasses used, the way the host collects feedback; all of these things should be secondary aspects of the party. The true ingredients of a successful wine tasting party are simple: good wine and good people.WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR YOUR WINE TASTING PARTY:½ a bottle of wine per guest is ideal – supply your own or have everyone bring a bottle or twoClean, clear wine glasses – I prefer RiedelA couple of wine openers and a corkscrew as backupA bucket or spittoon to dump out th...
by Don Lahey
A lot of wine enthusiasts wonder what temperature their wine should be when they open a bottle. The traditional, age-old response to the question is to serve white wines cold and red wines at room temperature. But, in this case, not only is traditional wisdom out of synch with the human palate according to recent university studies – it’s also vague and misleading.FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHAT IS ROOM TEMPERATURE?Room temperature varies from season to season and from location to location. In addition, traditional wine temperature recommendations don’t take modern heating and air conditioning into account, which greatly alter the temperature of a room. Moreover, when the conventional wisdom of serving red wine at room temperature came into vogue in England and France centuries ago, room ...
by Andrew John Chalk
by Andrew ChalkTime was, you went to the airport to catch a flight. Now, people may make the treck to DFW just to spend time at the American Express Centurion Club. AMEX has made a move that is at once brilliant and simple. Seeing the dumbed-down, emasculated concept of a club being run by the major U.S. airlines, it has set out to replicate what seasoned international travelers are used to at first class lounges in Asia or the middle east. There is the expected upscale decor, the bar, work areas, comfortable lounges and friendly staff. But there is also a spa where you can get a massage or a manicure. The first-class food menu is created in conjunction with Dean Fairing.At the bar is Balvenie 12 year Doublewood, Herman-Marshall Texas Whiskey, Belvedere, Fernet-Branca, Tito’s, Hendrick...
by Elena Cawley
Tom invited his guests in the wine cellar, and I followed them. He opened the door. It was dark. He turned on the light. “Follow me and watch your step,” Tom said. I smelled a combination of toasted oak, cedar, vanilla and yeast aromas.We went down and stood in front of the rack which held the bottles of sparkling wine. The bottles were upside-down. “We make our sparkling wine here,” the winemaker said. He started describing the process.“In order to make sparkling wine, we make still wine first. Wine is fermented grape juice. Through fermentation, sugar turns into alcohol. Carbon dioxide is a bi-product of fermentation.”“After the still wine is ready, we can make it bubbly.”He explained that winemakers can use three ways to make sparkling wine.First, the carbon dioxide may ...
