SEARCH RESULTS
|
VIDEO
|
Andrew McMurray continues on his tasting voyage through Champagne, joining expert Sylvain Allart to taste the wines of Serveaux Fils. Find out what sets this small producer apart from the pack (hint: it's all in the grapes).
More >
|
|
|
CATEGORY:
|
WINE REGIONS: FRANCE
|
|
DURATION:
|
4:11
|
|
|
DATE:
|
11/17/2007
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 06/08/2008
The high where I live, north of Boston, was 57 degrees on Friday. Today it was 93.Friday it rained nearly the entire day. Today, with all the sun, would have been bone dry were it not for the humidity in the air that made the temperature feel even hotter.It was a shock to everyone's system.If I had gotten around to drinking wine sometime during the day today, I'm certain I would have reached for something light and refreshing and, most of all, cool. But since it was nearly 8:30 in the evening an ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
06/08/2008
|
|
VIDEO
|
New Zealand trailblazer Kim Crawford talks about his pioneering and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc.
More >
|
|
|
CATEGORY:
|
WINE REGIONS: NEW ZEALAND
|
|
DURATION:
|
2:48
|
|
|
DATE:
|
01/31/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 03/02/2009
The menu for the Duckhorn Wine Dinner tonight was fairly by-the-book.Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley with pan-seared duck breast for the first course.Merlot (from Napa) with short rib ragout, and Cab (also from Napa) with sirloin.Then Zinfandel with a bittersweet chocolate pavé for dessert.Except for the dessert course, all the pairings were right on. The Pinot Noir with the duck, especially complemented by the mushrooms in the risotto, was a natural fit. The Merlot would have been, for me, ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
03/02/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 02/24/2009
It wasn't a Big Night.I didn't have guests for dinner.I didn't even have a plan for what to eat.I opened the wine first, and thought about it.The wine – 2007 Villa Wolf Rosé de Pinot Noir, produced by Ernst Loosen of Germany – was refreshing.I'll have vegetables, I thought.I took another sip. The wine was more down-to-earth than fancy-schmancy. I chopped some sweet potato and shallot.Another sip. The wine wasn't complex or elegant or elaborate. I reached for the basic olive oil (not the specialt ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
02/24/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 01/08/2009
ASSIGNMENT: Five-course food and wine pairingWHERE: Boston University Wine Studies course, Level 3WHEN: Wednesday, January 7, 2009MOTTO FOR THE MENU: A good pairing should allow you to eat and drink more, without your palate getting exhausted.THEME FOR THE MENU: Understated ExcellenceLESSON LEARNED: This menu pulls together wine experiences, and food and wine experiences, that I have enjoyed tremendously all over Boston during the past year of preparing 365daysofwine.com. Appetizer: Heirloom to ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
01/08/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 12/02/2008
A friend of mine, who'd just arrived from Connecticut, sat down for dinner and handed me a small newspaper called the New England Wine Gazette. It's published out of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and its articles pull the curtain back on the wine scene across the region, and especially in places like New Hampshire and Newport."New Hampshire Winery Association Promotes a Growing State Industry," goes the title of one article."Newport Vineyards Wines Best of Show at the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competit ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
12/02/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 10/01/2008
Note: This article ran in today's Gloucester Daily Times.There's a certain moment when you realize a change is in the air.It's when you pull a light jacket from the closet before you head out the door in the morning.It's when you add a heavier blanket to cover your bed at night.And, when you're thinking about what's in your glass, it's when you realize you don't want light, refreshing, cooling anymore. You want something more substantive, earthy, warming.That's when it's fall, and that's when ma ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
10/01/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 07/12/2008
Vinodivino held a tasting of southern French wines in their tiny but impeccably organized shop in Newton this afternoon. The provenance of three of the four wines was the Côtes du Rhône but one – the 2006 La Sauvageonne Coteaux du Languedoc Les Ruffes – was from the Languedoc. It caught my attention for many reasons.I'm in the middle of a bad streak of wines from the Languedoc. More precisely, it is Languedoc whites that have put the bug in my ear this summer. Reds are another story. For example ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
07/12/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 07/02/2008
"People drink when the economy is good, and they drink more when the economy is not so good."That's Mike Martin of Constellation Brands being quoted in a Wall Street Journal article today about the alcohol industry's strong showing in an otherwise down economy. Martin also noted that consumers of Constellation's wine, beer and spirits are drinking less in restaurants and bars and more at home.That's good news for wine shops like The Spirited Gourmet in Belmont and BRIX on Broad in Boston, who bo ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
07/02/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 05/05/2008
This week I'm taking a Mastering Wine course, taught by Karen MacNeil at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley. Each morning the class visits a different winery. Each winery arranges a carefully orchestrated tasting in order to highlight one particular learning goal of the course.Franciscan was our first stop, and the focus was Chardonnay. What was extraordinary about this tasting was the opportunity Franciscan gave us to compare unblended wine samples, that is, samples taken dire ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
05/05/2008
|
|
VIDEO
|
Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect Spring wine. In another installment of his Guide to Grapes series, Chris Blanchard shares his respect for the fresh and refreshing characteristics of sauvignon blanc and describes some ideal food and wine pairing ideas for an afternoon party.
More >
|
|
|
CATEGORY:
|
WINE 101: EDUCATION
|
|
DURATION:
|
1:44
|
|
|
DATE:
|
04/14/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 01/29/2008
California is a beautiful place. In fact, San Francisco is the place on this earth where I feel most at home, so I've really got a thing for California. And, they make some great wines in their gorgeous wine country. But, for my price range, I find I have better luck in Australia (duh) and even France (now that I know how to read the labels!) than in California.
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
WINE VIRGIN
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Carolyn
|
|
DATE:
|
01/29/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 04/29/2009
Note: This article ran in today's Gloucester Daily Times.Is it possible to taste sunshine in a glass of wine?Goodness knows we want to, what with the break – finally – from the winter chill that until last week seemed like it would never end, and with the unseasonably warm temperatures the past few days, and with the simple and profound pleasure of mucking about with newly sockless feet.Sunshine in the sky. Sunshine on our skin. Sunshine in our glass...?Why not?Some wines have it there naturally. ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
04/29/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 04/07/2009
"A man dies too young if he leaves any wine in his cellar." – André L. SimonA used bookseller I know usually sets 20 or 25 books on two small bookcases just outside his front door, for casual passers-by to peruse and possibly purchase. The bookseller changes the theme frequently – Cape Cod ecology in the summer, Updike novels when he passed away, how-to-entertain manuals around the holidays – but this week the theme was wine, food and cocktails.I stopped to peruse.What caught my eye first was a ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
04/07/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 03/27/2009
A friend of mine opened her home-goods store with a modest wine collection, but she was insistent that the wines she carried would all be "hand-crafted" and "small production" and "estate bottled" and she would have a personal connection to as many of the winemakers as possible. In other words, they would be wines she was proud to carry.That was the plan.And at first it worked very well. She developed – and still continues to nurture – a devoted clientele who trust her opinions, on wine and on g ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
03/27/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 03/18/2009
[Note: This article ran in today's Gloucester Daily Times.]Champagne, especially from premium houses like Charles Heidsieck and Krug, is a pricey endeavor. It helps to share, both the experience and the expense. Which is what I plan to do with my book club next week when we meet at Cornerstone Books in Salem to discuss our pick of the month: The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It. Each month the club comes together to sip wine that is somehow relevant to t ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
03/18/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 03/08/2009
"It makes it taste like cherry cheesecake," the beer specialist at Formaggio Kitchen's South End store said to me this afternoon.I was skeptical. What he wanted me to do was taste a cheese called Charmoix, and then immediately take a sip of beer called Kasteel Rouge. That combination, apparently, amounted to more than the sum of its beer-cheese parts, namely, cherry cheesecake.It wasn't that I was unwilling; I was in the South End, in fact, for the sole purpose of participating in the Belgian ch ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
03/08/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 03/07/2009
The drinks list at Fugakyu restaurant in Brookline is anything but timid, no matter which tradition you call home.White wines? Choose from light-, medium-, and full-bodied.Red wines? Medium-bodied, Rhône-style, or full-bodied. Take your pick.Or go for Champagne, sparkling wines, or rosé.Then there's plum wine, sake, and Sho Chu.Or martinis, "special cocktails," and beer.Whoever said Japanese cuisine was a challenging food-wine pairing has not met Fugakyu's beverage director. And whoever goes hom ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
03/07/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 02/21/2009
The folks I know at the Napa Valley Vintners are realists.The purpose of NVV, a non-profit trade association representing some 350 wineries, is of course to promote Napa wines but it is also to gauge market forces around the world that affect the sale and consumption of wine. Which means the mood going into this week-end's Premiere Napa Valley (PNV) barrel-tasting and auction was cautious at best.They almost needn't have worried.Because, in Napa, the best Cabs are still the best Cabs: Shafer is ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
02/21/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 01/30/2009
The Wine, Travel and Food book club meets the last Friday of every month at the Cornerstone bookstore in Salem, and I'm quite certain that most of the attendees are there to discuss, earnestly and in detail, the book pick of the month.I'm there for the wine.Cornerstone, bless their hearts, allows us to discuss our books over a glass or two of wine. We all pitch in and normally wind up with something that's even appropriate to the book we're reading. This month's book was Learning to Bow: Inside ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
01/30/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 01/20/2009
By Austyn MayfieldFor the next 70 years or so, one defining question will filter through dinner parties across America."So, where did you watch Obama's inauguration?" While the millions of zealous observers who poured into the greater D.C. area for the inaugural festivities will be able to say they were on hand for the official celebration, some of the most happening shindigs bearing witness to this historic event happened right here in local Boston neighborhoods.Almost 200 guests ushered in the ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
01/20/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 01/03/2009
The range of sparkling wines at many retail shops varies from a fairly standard Bouillot Perle de Vigne (at $15.95), to a sparkling wine from California (Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noir at $19.95), all the way to Dom Perignon 2000 ($149.95) and Veuve Clicquot LGD Riva Gift Box ($199.95).But as I browsed the aisles just before New Year's, I could not pull away from the Veuve Clicquot.It may have been the distinctive orange label, which is recognizable to anyone with even a passing familiarity with wi ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
01/03/2009
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 12/24/2008
(Note: This column ran in today's Gloucester Daily Times.)Call them suggestions. Or just call them gentle encouragements. Either way, they'll set you on the path toward a resolution to "Learn more about wine" in 2009.1. Suggestion: Take a sip here. Then take a sip there. Repeat.Rationale: Wine is a great big world. The way to get a handle on it is to focus only on what's in your glass right now. Enjoy it. Take your time with it. There will not be a test. The key is to pay attention to the wine y ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
12/24/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 12/09/2008
By Amy McCoyPretend we're in a small hill town in Italy, and we've discovered a fabulous, small production wine at the local enoteca. Now let's pretend that the food they served with it at the tables out in back was fresh, local, and exactly perfect. Fortunately we don't have to pretend we weren't able to bring a bottle or two of that wine home with us, because we can find that very wine and locally sourced Tuscan-inspired food at Tomasso Trattoria and Panzano Market in Southborough.Tomasso Trat ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
12/09/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 10/07/2008
Here in Boston we're starting to get over the white wines of summer. Not that we ever stop drinking Chardonnays or Rieslings completely, but there's a time and a place for everything and sometimes the place for whites is summertime. In flip flops. On the back porch or out on the beach.That is perhaps even more true for rosé wines, that happy complement to warm weather and warm-weather foods.But if you're French and you live in Provence – situated in the far southeastern corner of France along th ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
10/07/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 10/03/2008
By Cathy Huyghe and Hannah HausauerAt some of the larger-scale "grand" tastings geared toward consumers rather than trade professionals, you notice that the people pouring the wines aren't always the most knowledgeable about their product. And often they don't need to be. Their customers for the night are simply there to have a good time (consumers), not to conduct official business (trade). Tonight however – at the Shubie's Harvest Wine and Food Festival (for consumers), held on the back lawn ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
10/03/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 09/17/2008
Note: This column ran in today's Gloucester Daily Times. Photo by Cheryl Corneau.Back in March, I visited Zoës tapas and bar in Beverly Farms when it first opened. Every wine, every single wine, on the list was available by the bottle and by the glass.My exact response at the time? Hallelujah!On a more recent visit, just last week, I eagerly looked for the wine list again. The server handed me the list, I glanced at it, then I asked where the rest of it was. The server nodded sympathetically. Sh ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
09/17/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 09/08/2008
Sometimes the best way to get the attention of your audience is to turn the regular routine on its head.Like serving red first at a three-course tasting dinner. Then the white. Then the sparkling.And sometimes the best way to get the attention of your audience is to teach them something.Like saying the Gamay grape is actually a derivative of Pinot Noir.On both counts, Kelly Coggins at Rialto had my attention.Serving red wine with the first course – this would be the part where the regular routin ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
09/08/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 08/27/2008
(Originally published March 10, 2008)Restaurant Week started in Boston today and Om on Winthrop Street in Cambridge was my first stop. It wasn't going well.The bartender had no idea which wines on the list were made by women, and the sommelier or anyone else who'd know either weren't working tonight or weren't available.So I took a stab in the dark. I wanted something white, since I'd be having Om's chick pea fries and lobster won tons. Choices by the glass were very limited but one in particula ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
08/27/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 09/01/2008
I found this lovely Rose from Bordeaux so will enjoy this on this very American holiday...Pink Criquet.
More >
|
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
LAURA'S LINE ON WINE
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Roger
|
|
DATE:
|
09/01/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 08/29/2008
It's none other than Moe Momtazi, guiding us through the natural maze that's dubbed biodynamics. Fascinating.
More >
|
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
LAURA'S LINE ON WINE
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Roger
|
|
DATE:
|
08/29/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 08/22/2008
Hear about our journey to Roger's Vineyard to film Napa's first harvest of 2008; the Pinot Noir champagne grapes.
More >
|
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
LAURA'S LINE ON WINE
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Roger
|
|
DATE:
|
08/22/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 06/10/2008
Strawberries were ready for picking today, for the first time this year, at The Food Project's farm in Lincoln. We went to pick up this week's CSA share (CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture), and I for one was tickled to see "One pint of strawberries" enumerated on the chalkboard's list of pick-your-own options this week.Strawberry picking is an old early-summer ritual in my house. My mother's father took her to little-known patches on the hillsides of Pennsylvania, and she took me. T ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
06/10/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 06/12/2008
Tell me about the genesis of Bin Ends. What's the big idea?My business partner Craig Drollett and I began to discuss plans for a fine wine retail shop in January 2007. Our original thoughts were more along the lines of an upscale boutique wine shop. A month and a 100 page business plan later we shelved the idea. It was a vanity play, requiring too much start up capital, and taking too long to return a profit. The upscale segment of the market is a small niche market and there were already a lot ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
06/12/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 04/13/2008
Merchants Liquor Mart in Danvers donated the wine and beer for the Harborlight Montessori School's benefit auction in North Beverly last night. The whites were on ice in a large bin, the reds were open on the table at the cash bar. The wines were nothing fancy or expensive – Big House Red and Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio are two of the wines I saw – but the point is that it was there. It was there because the auction was a festive occasion; aside from the auction itself, the school celebrates its 35 ...
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
04/13/2008
|
|
VIDEO
|
Pinot Noir has been called the winemaker's wine. Beautiful to drink, but difficult to make. What makes pinot noir so versatile on the table, and what are some of the best pinot pairing choices? Chris Blanchard talks about why he loves pinot noir, in his continuing Guide to Grapes series.
More >
|
|
|
CATEGORY:
|
WINE 101: WINE REGIONS
|
|
DURATION:
|
1:36
|
|
|
DATE:
|
04/14/2008
|
|
VIDEO
|
Cabernet Sauvignon is King in Napa Valley. In his continuing Guide to Grapes, Chris Blanchard takes on the tannic power of cabernet sauvignon and talks about what he loves about this powerful red wine varietal. Smokey notes of espresso, chocolate, and rich, voluptuous fruit all make cab compelling.
More >
|
|
|
CATEGORY:
|
WINE 101: EDUCATION
|
|
DURATION:
|
1:54
|
|
|
DATE:
|
04/14/2008
|
|
VIDEO
|
Chardonnay isn't just popular, it's one of the world's top wine choices. But why do we love chardonnay more than any other white wine varietal? As he kicks off his Grape Guide series, WineTasteTV's Chris Blanchard talks chardonnay basics: from the effects of oak to some of the best chardonnay food and wine pairings. Lobster risotto anyone?
More >
|
|
|
CATEGORY:
|
WINE 101: EDUCATION
|
|
DURATION:
|
|
|
|
DATE:
|
04/14/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 04/06/2008
Market Restaurant on Main Street in St. Helena looks like a restaurant with a bar but, this being Napa Valley, the reality is the other way around. The bar, specifically the wine list, is the star of this show: the wine list runs four to five times as long as the menu, and the wait staff seems more interested in what wine you'll order than in what food you'll have to go along with it.
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
04/06/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 03/10/2008
Restaurant Week started in Boston today and Om on Winthrop Street in Cambridge was my first stop. But it wasn't going well. The bartender had no idea which wines on the list were made by women, and the sommelier or anyone else who'd know either weren't working tonight or weren't available.
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
365 DAYS
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Cathy
|
|
DATE:
|
03/10/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 01/11/2008
Here at Zachys we've been debating which region is the most underrated wine country. My vote is for the Adriatic Coast of Italy - there are fantastic wines being produced in The Marche, Abruzzi, Molise and Puglia.
More >
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
MERCHANT'S CORNER
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Andrew
|
|
DATE:
|
01/11/2008
|
|
BLOG
|
Posted 01/16/2008
As part of my recent efforts to expand my wine enjoyment (i.e., not just sparkling wine and Burgundy), I decided last night to attend a wine tasting at a great restaurant downtown. Apparently they do these little free tastings every night, and you never know what it's going to be until you show up! I recruited El Gato to join me and we headed out.
More >
|
|
|
|
BLOG:
|
WINE VIRGIN
|
|
AUTHOR:
|
Carolyn
|
|
DATE:
|
01/16/2008
|
|
Community
JOIN WineTasteTV and learn, share and upload your own wine video. Our message boards, blogs and podcasts will connect you with a vast and knowledgeable community of wine lovers and wine experts.
|
