There’s nothing like the holidays to inspire the inner host or hostess inside you to get to work. Planning a holiday party is easy; good friends, good food and good wine are all it takes to turn a cold winter evening into a night full of warm memories. “A wine dinner is a wonderful theme for a get-together with friends,” says Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White and Drunk All Over (www.nataliemaclean.com). “It can be either a fancy, multi-course meal or a casual potluck where everyone contributes. A variety of wines for the dishes is what makes it fun.” Choosing […]
Turkey Wines 5
One of America’s favorite holidays – with its own parade, plenty of football and a feast – Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. This year it falls on November 22, and apparently the U.S. version of this feasting day (Canada’s is quite sensibly held in October) seems to be well-known in Europe and Asia. It is an occasion that can strike dread in the hearts of dieters and bring delight to dessert fiends with its apple, pecan and pumpkin pies, savory squashes and sweet potatoes, molds, relishes, salads, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Oh, right! The turkey. The question then becomes what wine […]
Food & Wine 4
Why did the chicken flee screaming across the road? It might’ve been escaping the dinner-party host trying to fry him and serve him with, yawn, a bottle of chardonnay. Matching vino and vittles for your next bash doesn’t have to be a “Wine for Dummies” affair relying on tried-and-tired combos (steak with Merlot, fish and Pinot Grigio). But combining tidbits that are supposedly wine-averse — Indian take-out, chips, breakfast — might mean you’ll uncork some interesting bottles. “In Europe, wine culture is quite developed, so it’s common and easy to simply pair white with fish or things like that,” says […]
Economy & Wine 2
Today’s cut rate from the Fed has economists expecting that the already-weak dollar will fall even further. That’s after the greenback hit a new record low against the euro early Wednesday, breaking the record it set Monday following announcements of a plunge in consumer confidence — i.e., a measurement of Americans’ optimism about the economy, based on surveys. What does that mean for your wallet? Simply put, the weaker the dollar, the more you pay for imported goods such as that favorite bottle of Château Lafite-Rothschild from France or that Mercedes-Benz S-Class from Germany. “Currency fluctuations immediately affect prices,” says […]
Pricing Wine
NEW YORK (CNN.com) — From a box of Franzia to a bottle of 1961 Chateau Petrus, there are few drinks with such a wide range of quality and cost as wine. As wine has grown more popular, more and more producers are getting into the market with inexpensive offerings designed to be consumed immediately, pushing overall prices down steadily. But at the same time, demand has soared for premium wines, which are grown in limited quantity and released in moderation — resulting in record breaking prices. This Sunday, an Imperial of a 1961 vintage of Château Petrus (which is the […]
Tomatoes & Wine 2
It’s high season for tomatoes, that short but intense period when locally grown tomatoes seem to be everywhere: Farm stands, supermarkets, back-yard vines. One bite into a juicy, ripe sun-warmed tomato and you recognize once more what all the fuss is about after spending months dodging those wan, rock-hard “tomatoes” sold or served out-of-season. A fresh, vine-ripened tomato deserves to be showcased at the table with, at least, a sprinkling of good salt and, at most, a piece or two of mozzarella, basil sprigs and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. And, to make it even more celebratory, be sure […]
Kosher Wines
Please note: This story has been edited for length. Jewish people around the world have something extra to be thankful for during the upcoming High Holidays: fine wines. For too long wine has been an afterthought (except for the sacramental variety) at the Sabbath table. That’s changing. Joan Nathan, the grand doyenne of Jewish cookery in North America and author of seven bestselling cookbooks, says kosher wine used to be synonymous with syrupy cough medicine — not exactly food-friendly; really more prayer-friendly. She recently visited the Judean Hills in Israel. “I always thought of the Golan Heights as having good […]
Wine Deals
Leaves aren’t the only things that fall in autumn. As retailers clean out old inventory and make room for the upcoming holiday season and new year, there are plenty of bargains to be found. Shop for the right items, and you’ll see prices drop just as fast as — if not quicker than — the foliage outside. Here’s our guide to what’s best to buy in September, October and November. Wine When to Buy: September Why: “Fall is always when the new bottles from last year’s harvest show up on shelves,” says Natalie MacLean, editor of Nat Decants, a wine […]
Burgundy
Price-conscious consumers are understandably a little shy of the 2005 Burgundy vintage. Praise has been nearly unanimous, and prices have shot skyward. While most attention has been on the reds, the whites are great, too. Still, not everybody will cheerfully drop $50 on a village-level Meursault, much less $150 for a good Corton-Charlemagne. As ever, the Mâconnais region rides to the rescue. For decades, the Mâconnais, south of the Côte d’Or but part of Burgundy, has overflowed with inexpensive whites. The best were tangy, refreshing and satisfying. The problem was that few achieved even this modest level. But for the […]
Champagne
Trying to master the terminology of Champagne is like learning an entirely new language. What does brut mean? Is that different from brut nature? What’s the difference between Spumonte and Champagne? What do the little tiny initials on a Champagne label, like NM, mean? Let’s take a look. The word Champagne can be used only on sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in France. In 1891 the Treaty of Madrid was signed, declaring that only wines made in that region could legally be called Champagne, and this was later reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles. There are a […]
