Mom and I headed up to the Berkshires during one of the coldest weekends of my time in the Northeast (no really, record breaking lows!!). We had a fun weekend full of antiques, great food and wine, our favorite hobbies! We rented a car and made the 2.5 hour drive from NYC, stopping along the way in Millbrook to check out a few antique stores….
Last week I was lucky enough to cross an NYC institution off my bucket list: dinner at Peter Luger. I’ve heard about this bacon for years and I just HAD to see what it was all about. But since this is Wine Wednesday after all, I wanted to start by sharing the wine. While Peter Luger is not exactly known for having a stellar…
When I think “Beaujolais” I think red fruit, bright, juicy, jammy. Who knew there was a Beaujolais Blanc white wine counterpoint to the more famous Burgundian red. I had this wine for the first time with dinner at Perla. A night of firsts on multiple fronts, I’ve been a huge fan of the Happy Cooking restaurant group for many years (Jeffrey’s is an old standby)…
I’m sure you’re all familiar with Pecorino cheese, but did you know it’s also a grape varietal? A native grape to the Abruzzo region of central Italy, I recently sampled the 2014 Pecorino from Contesa over a delicious dinner at Santina in NYC. The wine was the perfect balance between fuller body but with an underlying minerality that kept it crisp and clean. Slightly floral…
This cold weather on the east coast has me reaching for bold, big bodied reds. I recently tasted this 2014 Syrah from Villard, a winery located in the Casablanca Valley in Chile. I wish I had snapped a pic of the wine in the glass, it was the most beautiful dark purple-red color. Unlike most Syrah’s I’ve tasted, this wasn’t overpowering or spicy. The…
In between bites of food we saw the sites. Oslo is such a gorgeous city! We did a fantastic bike tour with Viking Biking, took a ferry ride through the fjords and toured the surrounding islands, and made our way through the hipster hoods. While we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city, I would be lying if I said food and drink weren’t the highlights of…
While in Oslo, we were lucky enough to crash a winemaker dinner with Valle Reale, a winery in the Abruzzo region in Italy. We settled in to the back room at buzzing Cru restaurant as the lovely Guilia gave us some history of the winery and region before tasting us through the portfolio of wines. Flights of wine were paired with delicious food and amazing…
If you’re ever asked if you’d like to have dinner in Norway, say yes, always say yes! I was lucky enough to receive such an invitation, and flew to Oslo, Norway for the weekend where I experienced literally the most amazing culinary experience and best meal of my life at Maaemo. From the moment we arrived, to our final bite over 3 1/2 hours later,…
If you’re ever wondering what food to pair with a wine, pick chicken. It goes with everything! I experienced my ultimate in chicken pairing at Zuni Cafe, their infamous roast chicken and bread salad and a 2012 Puligny-Montrachet from Domaine de Chérisey. Literally my heaven on earth. I hadn’t been to Zuni Cafe in years and I don’t think we even ordered the chicken the first…
I recently had a taste of Spain via this Tempranillo from Amador County of all places! Apparently that’s where the “cool kids” are making wine these days, and this 2012 Ferdinand Tempranillo from winemaker Evan Frazier is no exception. He learned his skills from the ultimate “cool kid” Abe Schoener of the Scholium Project and consulting winemaker for Red Hook Winery. I enjoyed this…
