Sauced In New York Sometimes the food is in the sauce, sometimes we are

We all have our comfort zones and this applies to wines as well.  I am very much at home quaffing a California Cabernet, Chardonnay or Zinfandel or even a New York Riesling, but less so drinking wines with unpronounceable names, employing unfamiliar grape varieties and having their origin in exotic and vaguely threatening countries.  For the past several weeks I ... Read More »

Over the years, I have managed to acquire a few large format bottles of wine, usually after a couple of drinks at a charity event.  While the size of these bottles is impressive, their utility is limited, since our dining room table can only comfortably accommodate 10 and less comfortably 12.  Holly’s family descended upon us over the holidays for ... Read More »

It is said that one can grow wine in any location where a weed can grow (think of the Gruet, a wonderful sparkling wine from New Mexico), but in California, it just seems too easy.  Holly’s mother in Santa Cruz has pear trees, persimmon trees and lemon trees that just seem to thrive without much attention. Her brother’s house is ... Read More »

When we cook dinner at home, we almost always crack open a bottle of wine.  Now for a casual dinner at home several times a week, you would be reluctant to use the blockbuster wines kept in your cellar for special occasions or for dinners with valued friends who know their wines.  (Having said that, I do not slavishly adhere ... Read More »

A week or so ago, we were in Sacramento for a wedding and, after picking us up at the airport, Holly’s brother, Brian, drove us to a tapas bar downtown (inappropriately named Tapa the World, since the city is flat as a pancake) for some food and wine.  Brian asked me to select a wine and handed me the list.  The ... Read More »