Syrah

June 30, 2023 1

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Never Have I Ever

If any of you are familiar with Garagiste, you know that sometimes they offer mystery wine purchases. They give a general description, but no real idea of what the varietals are or where it’s from. If the price is right, I enjoy playing the mystery game. I think of it as my wine-centered version of "never have I ever."... [...]

February 5, 2022 10

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Dinner with Friends

I know that “zoom fatigue” is a real thing, but if you want to see your close friends who live 3,000 miles away, a Zoom dinner is an absolute joy!

We have really missed seeing Susan and Towny these past couple of years because of COVID, but we talk to them as often as we possibly... [...]

May 10, 2020 7

Hermitage – the finest manifestation of Syrah and Marsanne

Standing guard with a fabulous view looking south over the Rhône Valley is the magnificent hill of Hermitage, crowned by the famous chapel of St Christopher.

Geologically, the hill was part of the right bank Massif Central until the Rhône River burrowed its way to the west, ensuring Hermitage as the only granitic terroir... [...]

September 7, 2019 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
At Home with the Provence WineZine

It all started with our trip to visit Susan and Towny in Portsmouth, NH, over the 4th of July. As you might imagine, food and wine are plentiful in their home, and this holiday week was no exception. Most meals were planned well in advance, the results of several... [...]

June 30, 2019 6

TAKING THE SLOW ROUTE ALONG THE RHÔNE FROM LYON TO LOURMARIN – PART ONE

Earlier this year, long before sweltering heat descended on Europe, Towny and I escaped the frigid temperatures of New England and went to France. The night before we left, we found ourselves in... [...]

February 2, 2019 4

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Side by Side by Syrah

Your average dinner for four. Apéro had been served. Dinner was in the oven. The table was set. Two wines were open and ready. But this wasn’t an average dinner. And we certainly didn’t have average wines. In fact we – Susan, Towny, Mark, and I – had two highly rated, 100% Syrah... [...]

January 27, 2018 18

DOMAINE RICHEAUME: TAKING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Sylvain Hoesch was not going to be a winemaker. “No,” he answered, rather emphatically for a man who seemed to have such a quiet demeanor. “I was sure I was going to do something else.” Hoesch grew up on Domaine [...]

August 15, 2017 5

DECODING CÔTES DE PROVENCE ROSÉ

There are still people out there who think that rosé comes from blending red and white wines and others who (seriously) think rosé is made from a single grape variety called rosé. This article focuses on the traditionally dry, fresh, fruit-forward, pale-colored rosés [...]

May 15, 2016 9

CHÂTEAU VIGNELAURE: “THE” RED IN PROVENCE BEFORE TRÉVALLON CAME ALONG…IS BACK!

In 1987, in his introduction to Provence wines in The Wines of the Rhône Valley and Provence, legendary wine critic Robert Parker described the newly created Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence appellation in four sentences [...]

March 5, 2016 6

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Wine for Food

I was perusing the rosé section at Total Wine last weekend in search of a bottle to have with my Moroccan harira, a soup I enjoyed when traveling in Morocco in 1991. The thing I love about winter - even here in Tucson - is that the stock of rosé wines is good. But this is also dismaying to me, as people - people who should know better - say [...]