Spirits

Spirits from Provence

November 12, 2017 28

PROVENCE WINEZINE PICKS WINES FOR THANKSGIVING 2017

So you want to add a little French flair to this quintessentially American meal? But a wave of anxiety engulfed you when you remembered that seven years ago, UNESCO deemed French gastronomy to be "a world intangible [...]

December 3, 2016 10

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
An Old Friend I Had Never Met

I must tell you that I have never tasted a wine like this before, and yet there is something so familiar in every sip. It's akin to meeting someone for the first time, yet feeling in your heart that you have known her or him all your life. It's a sense of immediate warmth and comfort. That is how this wine made me feel. Having enjoyed many dessert wines, from the sublime (Château d'Yquem Sauternes) to the ridiculous (no one shall be excoriated here), this wine stands apart - my new-old friend. I truly love it! [...]

November 17, 2016 5

Kevin Zraly Retires from Windows on The World Wine School and Champagne Corks were Popping

New York City wine legend Kevin Zraly bid adieu to his "Windows on the World Wine School" Monday night, ending 40 years of teaching his wildly popular 8-week wine course. Typically offered twice a year, over 20,000 people have enjoyed Zraly's words of wine wisdom across [...]

April 2, 2016 6

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Something from the Riviera

I am fortunate to have good friends. Friends who travel. Friends who think about me when they travel. More to the point, friends who buy me wonderful culinary gifts when they travel. I've received mustards from Germany; Crème De Marrons from Angélina in Paris; a bar of chocolate from Guatemala [...]

March 4, 2016 4

La Fée Verte Has Her Day March 5th

Ever on the lookout for a good theme to party to at chez nous, I was both surprised and pleased to learn that March 5th is National Absinthe Day. I know just where to find my '60s Peter Max 23” x 36” Toulouse-Lautrec poster, and as the “green fairy” [...]

July 4, 2015 5

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
On the Marc

Unless you are headed to France, or know someone who brought back a bottle (that was my method!), you probably won't be sipping Domaines Ott's Vieux Marc Rosé. Sadly, it is not imported to the United States! I paired this vieux marc, made from the skins of grapes used to make rosé, with a really old-fashioned dessert: Crêpes Suzette. Although my recipe is toned down in its buttery sweetness, it still requires something special for pairing. [...]

May 17, 2015 18

MARC: A SPIRIT FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE IT ROUGH

Marc (pronounced mahr and rhymes with car, like one a Bostonian would park) is not for everyone. Perhaps it is not even for most people, which works well—keeping the universe in balance—as the production of this spirit is so small that most of it never leaves the immediate area where it is produced. I happen to be an enthousiaste passionnée about this style of pomace brandy (that others would just as soon relegate to moonshine) [...]