Wine Food Pairing

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Timeless

In early December last year, Susan, Towny, Mark, and I descended upon Sue and Rodney Tipton at their winery, Acquiesce, located in Acampo, California, in the Lodi wine region. Sue and Rodney are the consummate hosts — they fed us, entertained us, and set up one of the most incredible days of wine tastings that I have ever... [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Rhapsody en Bleu

Five months ago, I wrote about a rosé bottled in green glass, and how that was — and still is — unusual for a rosé. Today’s wine, to take this one step further, is bottled in blue glass. The colored glass provides an ultraviolet filter to preserve the wine’s quality as long as possible. I’m glad for this blue glass, as the wine is quite... [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Le Pique-Nique

Picnic, anyone? Now is the time and, even if your temperatures don’t support being outdoors these days, today’s wine and food pairing is perfect for an indoor picnic. Just spread a blanket on the floor, put on a YouTube of forest sounds for background (hold the mosquitoes), add an oscillating fan for a light breeze, and you are... [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Strange Bedfellows

Today’s pairing is one I approached with some trepidation. I was confident that the wine was going to be good (okay, excellent), and I knew the recipe well enough to be happy with it. But together? I just wasn’t sure. I certainly didn’t expect a full-on tug-of-war, but I had no idea it was going to turn out be one of my favorite pairings in recent... [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Pink Wine of the Earth

Pink wine of the earth. That is what Randall Grahm calls his rosé. Its official name is Vin Gris de Cigare.  The reference to “cigare,” a French term for flying saucer, is a nod to the 1954 law in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation which outlawed flying saucers from flying over the vineyards. Vin Gris typically refers to a very, very light rosé wine that results from next-to no maceration time (compared to the traditional rosé methods).

Seven grapes come “to the table” to create this wine; together, they make a unique and delicious rosé. But I am getting ahead of myself… [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

When White Is Pink

I was in a local, high-end wine store recently, looking (as I am wont to do) for Provence wines. That day, I was specifically looking for a red wine, though my expectations were low as Provence wines — other than rosé — are not generally stocked here in Tucson. The store manager confirmed that he had nothing red, but he had a really highly-rated Provence white for a great price ($21.00!). I took him at his word, without really looking at the bottle, and bought two. Now, I wish I had ... [...]

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Gruntled with Grenache

Pleased. Satisfied. Contented. Those are quotidian words describing one of my favorite not-so-quotidian words: gruntled. And I was fully gruntled with this 2017 Grenache from Kitá Winery in Lompoc, California. Sadly, I am disgruntled to have learned recently that this winery is closing.

They are the makers of the one and only Sauvignon Blanc that I have actually liked. No, not liked — loved! Their Chardonnay is truly excellent. I think Kitá vintner Tara Gomez is brilliant, as are her wines. And this Grenache is no exception. The good news is that I was able to find quite a few bottles of this wine still available... [...]
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