Alto Adige gets about 300 sunny days per year – perfect for high acidity retention in its grapes. It’s where snow capped mountain slopes meet a Mediterranean climate with pristine blue skies. And it’s where distinctive wines are produced. The Italian Food, Wine, and Travel authors (#ItalianFWT) virtually travel to northern Italy for Alpine Wines this month. And, in fact,… Read more »
There are food and wine pairings so singular, it’s hard to stray from them. Like chèvre and Sancerre in France, tomato sauce and Sangiovese in Italy, or paella and Tempranillo in Spain. Once you partake, the flavors are etched in your mind. They meld with the people and place. I’ve caught myself reminiscing…remembering that meal, that wine, that town. There’s… Read more »
A dessert style wine implies it’s for dessert. Who named it that anyway?!? I’m here to tell you they aren’t just for dessert, they pair brilliantly with savory and salty snacks and dishes. Many sweet wines are fascinating. I say “many” as some are mass produced sweet wines with nothing but sweetness. I’m talking about those that see botrytis (noble… Read more »
Here in Bordeaux, harvest is in full swing, as are plums. We started with a variety of Italian Prune plum. The oh so petit and feminine Mirabelle were a treat. Then came the Yellow Gage, followed by a plum that resembles the Santa Rosa Plum. The Japanese or Red Plum was more familiar, as were the Greengage, and now finally… Read more »
When I ask people what they pair with port, the first response is usually chocolate. Deep, dark, silky and smooth, it’s wonderful with many port wines. But people not fond of chocolate want something different. A few years ago, I set out to find an offering when chocolate gets thrown out. What I found will be nice to enjoy on… Read more »
Biscotti refers to a specific type of Italian cookie derived from the Tuscan “biscuit” called “cantucci”. (In Italian the word biscotti means biscuit.) For a while I thought a biscotti was a biscotti was a biscotti. That is until a friend threw a cantucci at me. His homemade cantucci so transported my sweet tooth I asked for the recipe (thinking… Read more »
Smoked salmon is popular here with a large variety to draw one’s interest. Mine was piqued to find a new dish that would be enjoyable with a Pouilly-Fuissé. I’d picked one up at my favorite, around-the-corner wine store where I’m now able to address Monsieur by “tu” versus “vous”. Pouilly-Fuissé is made from the chardonnay grape in Burgundy’s most southerly… Read more »