Un Apéritif Almost Perfect
Posted: 04/01/2011 Filed under: Gastronomy, Paris, Places, Wine, Wine Pairings | Tags: Apéritif, France, tapas, Wine Leave a comment »
My two favorite meals in France are “brunch,” which deserves a post all to itself, and the famous “apéritif.” I know what you’re thinking, an apéritif isn’t a meal! It’s a drink! …but there’s always food that comes along with an apéritif so in my opinion it counts as a meal, or at least a good first course. Long gone are the days when the apéritif was just a drink with a couple of stale crackers. It’s become a statement – the way people express their culinary creativity (or lack thereof) without having to play it safe. Anything goes. So here’s a short compilation of different apéritifs that I’ve witnessed during my time in France. Read the rest of this entry »
Wine Meditation
Posted: 03/27/2011 Filed under: Wine, Yoga | Tags: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chateau Cote Montpezat, Compostela, France, Hiking, James Way, Meditation, Wine Leave a comment »I thought it was rather fitful when, just after arriving back from a wonderful 3-day hike in the Burgundy region of France, a friend brought over a bottled of wine called Cuvée Compostelle named in honor of the pilgrims who, as legend tells it, stopped to drink from the well of the château before continuing along the chemin de Saint Jacques (Way of Saint James). I know what you must be thinking… that my hike in a wine producing region on the complete opposite side of France has nothing to do with the Way of Saint James, and, in any case, what does wine have to do with hiking? Aside from weighing down the backpack and and making that simple bread and cheese pick-nick in the French countryside a complete cliché.
I have a tendency to put wine, hiking, and yoga in the same category for one simple (yet extremely difficult) characteristic that the three things have in common: meditation (keep in mind that I am a yoga teacher from the Rocky mountains who is passionate about wine so I might have a slightly alternative take on the subject). Read the rest of this entry »
Wine and Chocolate
Posted: 02/06/2011 Filed under: Gastronomy, Paris, Wine, Wine Pairings | Tags: Banyuls, Champagne, chocolate, France, Port, Wine, Wine Pairings, Zinfandel Leave a comment »With Valentine’s Day approaching, I decided to do a little experimenting with wine and chocolate. After all, wine and chocolate are two of my favorite things, so I would have to be crazy to turn down such a great excuse to eat more chocolate and drink more wine. 
But the other night, right as I was about to indulge in a dark chocolate truffle and a glass of tawny port (all in the name of science), I realized that there was something rather unfortunate about keeping such a wonderful experiment all for myself. So I returned the truffle to its box, looked around the empty apartment, and then at the annoyingly loud clock above the kitchen sink. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s Harvest Time
Posted: 09/10/2010 Filed under: Wine Leave a comment »The harvest, or vendange, as the French call it is just about here. In the Loire Valley they’ve already started the picking the grapes, but in other regions such as Champagne, they’ll be starting within the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I’m busy starting school in Paris otherwise I’d love to be out there stomping on some grapes (most places use machines now, but I just love the idea of it).
Despite being city bound now, I did make it down to Bordeaux a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share some of the pictures I took of the region… Read the rest of this entry »
