the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2011 Rodeo Uncorked! Wine Auction and Dinner will be held March 20 5:30 p.m. at Reliant Center in Houston, TX. One of the premiere wine events of the Southwest, the evening includes a reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction of champion wines and wine-related items, a sumptuous seated dinner with wines served from the competition, and the excitement of live auction bidding for award-winning and champion wines. Admission is $300 and up. Proceeds go to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, benefiting the youth of Texas through scholarships. For information, call Nan […]
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2011 Rodeo Uncorked! Champion Wine Garden
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2011 Rodeo Uncorked! Champion Wine Garden will be held from March 01 to March 20 at Monday through Friday, 4 to 11 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 11 p.m. at Reliant Center in Houston, TX. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2011 Rodeo Uncorked! Champion Wine Garden is the place to be during this year’s rodeo season. Located in Carruth Plaza between Reliant Center and the Astrodome, this popular destination offers visitors an opportunity to relax, chat with friends, listen to music and sample award-winning wines from all […]
Social Media & Wine
“You people,” sighed the Silicon Scout, shaking his head. “You and your websites. The web is like, so over.” We sit on a non-profit board of directors together, the Scout and I. He’s one of the guys known to technology marketers as “early adopters.” The first guy with a cellphone, a fax machine, an MP3 player. The first guy with an infrared mouse for his computer. The first guy to send you photos he took on his phone. (On his phone?) The Scout is considerably younger than most of us — well, he would be, wouldn’t he? — and during […]
Mobile Wine Apps 2
Nat Decants: Comprehensive wine guide for iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Droid, Nexus, Nokia, Palm Pre and other smartphones www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp Wine lovers know there’s nothing like the right pairing to complement a good meal, but not everyone knows whether the Chianti or the Merlot goes best with what’s for dinner. That’s where mobile devices come to the rescue. With quick access to a large resource of wine recommendations in seconds, even a vino novice can uncork the right vintage. Mobile wine apps promise to help you with picking a bottle for dinner, gift or special occasion. Nat Decants recommends pairings around […]
Sommelier Programs
Whether you are looking to impress your next date, to be the wine expert in the family or for a serious career change, Ottawa’s Algonquin College has you covered. The college’s reputable Sommelier Certificate Program was initially developed in response to an increased demand for properly trained wine professionals. Enrico DeFrancesco, the academic co-ordinator of the Algonquin sommelier program, says that studying wine is no longer the pretentious act it once was. “It is wine education done in a fun learning environment, not done in an aggressive manner,” he said. “We make leaning about wine fun and interactive — half […]
Learning about Wine 1
A small child was being admonished by his piano teacher, who asked, “Why is it you always forget your homework? I never forget to correct it and bring it to class.” The boy looked the teacher straight in the eye and with a certain amount of awe in his voice replied,”You must have a mind like Santa Claus.” When I tell people that I’m a professional wine taster they often have similar reactions. They assume that I—like Santa is somehow able to determine who’s been naughty and who’s been nice— am blessed with an extraordinary palate, enabling me to detect […]
Riesling 1
Riesling has been called the wine for all occasions, and luckily, there’s plenty available in Washington. It’s one of the most versatile white wine grapes and can be made in styles to fit almost any mood or occasion and to match a wide range of foods. You can find a good one for under $6 a bottle retail, and it is often the lowest-cost wine on restaurant wine lists. Rieslings are versatile because they come in all measures of sweetness — from bone dry to syrupy sweet. The most popular seems to be off dry, with about 2 to 3.6 […]
BYOB 1
A Happier Happy Hour for Your Wallet Want to grab a drink tonight? How about meeting at… my place. In the tough economy, a night out drinking is looking like an indulgence. Liquor sales were flat at $18.7 billion in 2009, and volume shifted. While sales for home consumption rose 2.2%, sales for restaurants, bars, hotels and nightclubs fell 3%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. Another reason people are drinking less: because bars are pushing pricey premium liquors and complicated cocktails. “The best bars are charging a premium because the cocktails take a while to make,” says Noah Rothbaum, the founder of […]
Bubbly For New Years
Natalie MacLean, editor of one of the largest wine newsletters on the web and author of “Red, White and Drunk All Over”, says: “Santa Margherita Prosecco, D.O.C., Veneto, Italy: A lovely summer day with bright notes of ripe white peach and toast. Toast your good fortune to be alive. Score: 89/100. Bollinger Champagne Special Brut Cuvée, A.C., Champagne, France: Green apple, toasty bread and lovely white peach goodness. An extraordinary complex bubbly. This was James Bond’s favourite bubbly: it makes every occasion special! $79.95 Score: 93/100 Why? I love to have 2 choices: one a value option for larger parties […]
Learning about Wine
In the new decade, we’ll know much more about what we eat The 10 years just past could have been dubbed the “foodie decade” – when “artisan” was attached to everything from bread to chocolates, when cupcakes went gourmet and food blogs gained big fan bases. It also was a decade of peanut butter recalls, contaminated spinach and “Super Size Me.” If anything, we head into 2010 much more aware of the origins and handling of the food we consume. Here are some trends to watch as the decade unfolds: More information, please As consumers hunger to know more about […]
