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 »
Wine Club Tasting
Posted: 07/19/2010 | Author: simmerandsip | Filed under: Wine, Wine Pairings | Tags: Comments, France, Tastings, Wine | Leave a comment »Once a week, a wine club meets in Cheverny under the direction of Christine Louet, oenologue and winemaker of Domaine du Vivier. Christine Louet is a wonderful women, and extremely knowledgeable about wine. Small and energetic, she teaches her “students” with passion and understanding. Many people begin coming to her club barely knowing the difference between red and white wine, but, by the end, they can discern the aromas and talk about the different wine regions. A few weeks ago, the group met for the last meeting of the year, and, thanks to a mutual friend, I was able to join them for the last tasting. The wines we tasted were French wines, but all of them from different regions. All of them great wines, but some more suited to my taste than others. Here’s a short resume of what we tasted…