I say American wine, you say…California. And well you should as the Golden State does represent almost nine out of every 10 bottles of wine made in the USA. But if I ask you to think beyond the obvious, most will reflex respond the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), then likely NY state, and from there some will say Virginia and others likely Texas. The fact of the matter is that all 50 states do indeed make and sell wine commercially in America and many are making better and better wines all the time. Add into the mix that increasingly good bottles are emanating from Canada (the Okanagan Valley and greater Niagara area of Ontario) and Mexico (hello Guadalupe Valley) and it’s easy to understand the excitement surrounding the North American industry. Continue reading »

Recently, I was having a heated discussion with a foodie friend who is a self-anointed gourmand of the highest order. He loves to eat, eat with zeal, and embraces copiousness! We agree on many things but the subject of when less is more came into play and we had major disagreement. The difference of opinion centered on highly coveted foods and how they are best implemented in dishes. While there were some elements that we agreed on (great osetra and beluga caviar for example—never too much!), there are others where we were divergent. Continue reading »

I was lucky to be in Europe on holiday a few weeks back, Paris and Madrid, bookending a lovely and delish ten days in Andalusia’s Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, and, of course, Jerez. While I cringe at the thoughts of my soon-to-arrive credit card bills, the trip was well worth it on so many levels. The experiences, the family time, the food and within the food….the cheese. I am a sucker for all cheeses from cows, sheep, goats, water buffaloes and any mixes of same. Hard or soft, fresh or aged, washed rinds or blues, they all make me swoon. High on my bucket list is a cheese trip through Western Europe with wine as the sideline and not vice versa. In the meantime, I will comfort myself in knowing that there’s a lot that you can get close to home—in your store and increasingly on your local cheese maker trail. And you don’t need to be in Europe to partake. Continue reading »