Languedoc-Roussillon

December 6, 2024 4

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
A Red for the Holidays

For the month of December, I created a fusion dish featuring Mexican, Dutch, Western Chinese, and Moroccan flavors — my Lamb Quesadilla. While obviously not an authentic dish, it is truly delicious and was actually the product of a dream I had. I have discovered that if I go to sleep thinking of what I might want to make for dinner, my subconscious keeps working after I nod off until it comes up with something marvelous. To get the recipe, visit Cocoa & Lavender. (Happily, my subconscious seems to have good taste!)... [...]

January 9, 2023 6

Sylvie Bigar, author of Cassoulet Confessions: Food, France, Family, and the Stew That Saved My Soul, Talks to Provence WineZine

“What is cassoulet?” You would be forgiven if you don’t know or if you thought it was simply a popular regional stew conceived in the South of France. Visions of a complex concoction may come to mind: beans, ham hocks, pork rinds, garlic... [...]

April 19, 2020 0

A Roundup of Some Lovely 2019 Rosés

My 2019 schedule for tasting was so well laid out…. WineParis, Prowein, AIR Provence, Vinitaly, as well as numerous local tastings…. What could possibly go wrong?

But there is always a silver lining, and, in many ways my tasting this year has been much more focused. Tasting 183 Provence rosés for Decanter magazine just before lockdown and receiving (at home) a number of rosés to taste from around Languedoc have shown that the 2019 rosé vintage is excellent. [...]

April 11, 2020 3

Easter Monday Brings Omelets and Rosé Chez Nous

Twenty years ago, in April 2000, we were tooling along the Canal du Midi with five friends. We rented a barge – a péniche -- and slowly cruised from Toulouse to Argens-Minervois, each of us taking turns behind the wheel and in the galley kitchen. Easter coincided with this trip and we produced a fabulous lamb dinner with all the trimmings to celebrate that occasion. The next day, we made omelets.

We learned from someone during our market explorations that the Monday after Easter was also a holiday and that post offices, banks, stores, and most other businesses would be closed. Called Lundi de Pâques or, in English, simply Easter Monday, it is primarily a day to relax. We were unable to establish any religious significance, but we did learn that the French in the south of France make omelets on Easter Monday. Et Dieu sait while in France, we wanted to do what the French...

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January 5, 2019 8

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Intentional

No, Dorothy, we aren’t in Kansas... or Provence, for that matter. But I did this intentionally. I planned to share a cassoulet on New Year’s Eve with Susan and Towny, and wanted the wine to pair perfectly.

Since I got the basic recipe for the cassoulet from John and Nicole... [...]

February 19, 2018 10

MILLÉSIME BIO 2018: MY THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM PROVENCE AND SOUTHERN RHÔNE TABLES

Millésime Bio 2018 opened their doors on January 29th to upwards of 3000 people. I was one of those people on that first [...]

May 22, 2017 5

Diary of a Master of Wine in Provence
Judging, Celebrating, Researching, Tasting

As with any business, living and working in Provence is not all sunshine lunches…. well, only a few…..

The past couple of weeks have been very busy. In late April, I was based in London, which, surprise, surprise, was cold grey and damp – although it did warm up a little by the end. I was there to judge in the Decanter World Wine Awards. This year the number of entries topped 17,000 wines

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April 7, 2017 17

Musings of a Wine Maven
Lord Save Us, Martha Stewart is Selling Wine Again

Never a quitter, Martha has shaken off the debacle of her failed venture with Gallo a decade ago to come back at the unsuspecting wine consumer with a new wine marketing scheme. Unable then to successfully sell her Martha Stewart Vintage label at fifteen bucks a bottle, her name is now attached to a box of six of her favorite selections for $59.99, served up in a wine club framework. Hmmm, if a fifteen buck wine made for her by Gallo couldn’t sell, why then these ten buck finds (introductory price) from California, Spain, Italy and France?

There are at least two rosés from Provence, the region that has taken the U.S. by storm with its immensely popular pink wine

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