Tapas Calpe, From Cary Supermarket to the Coast of Spain
Some people say the study of wine is an art. Others say it’s a science. To Nick Domanico, owner of Tapas Calpe in Cary, Illinois, wine is much more. “Studying wine is kind of like studying theology,” he explained to me in a recent interview. “It’s not like studying...
A Dozen Favorites from the 2015 Pinot Shootout
Every year for the past 13 years Barbara Drady, of Affairs of the Vine, has been organizing the Pinot Noir Shootout and subsequent Pinot Noir Summit. The Shootout is not one event, but a series of blind tastings held over several months in which professional wine...
Roero- The Road Less Traveled
Vineyards near Canale (Photo ©Tom Hyland) Piemonte is a region known for its wines, especially the great Nebbiolo-based reds Barolo and Barbaresco, iconic wines produced from vineyards not far from the town of Alba in the Langhe district. Journalists expound the...
Rhônes Rule in Oakland
Fifteen northern California wineries recently showcased their Rhône style wines for aficionados in—where else—Oakland! Syrah, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignane, Roussane, Counoise in red varietals and Viognier, the prime Rhône white, strutted their...
Through Rosé Colored Glasses
Rosés are pretty, but they’re not the most complex wines; they’re not powerful or full-flavored. In fact, they’re delicate, light, uncomplicated and easy to drink without much contemplation. Perhaps that’s why rosé consumption is on the rise. In France, where...
August 2015 Value Wines of the Month
Dry Creek Vineyard, 2014, Wilson Ranch, Clarksburg Chenin Blanc: Though technically at the threshold of off-dry (.6 residual sugar) it strikes my palate as completely dry with a silky texture and firm acidity. Consistent year after year, the flavors call to mind fresh...
The Aged and the Decrepit
Wines, like people, age at different rates. Some elderly people are young at heart, vibrant, full of life, and still in their prime, while others are creaking curmudgeons, dried out husks of the persons they had once been. Likewise, some old wines are vibrant and...
Terroir in the Modern World
If you read the wine press you’ll inevitably come across the French word terroir. Though terroir literally means soil, terroir has wider connotations; it also encompasses microclimate and viticultural traditions. Taken together, the argument goes, soil, microclimate,...
Summer Riesling
Summertime calls for refreshing white wine. There are plenty of candidates to choose from: Albariño, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino — the list goes on. All are worthy to grace our table, but if I had to confine myself to just one...
July 2015 Value Wines of the Month
Cartlidge & Browne 2013 North Coast Chardonnay: Value doesn’t mean dirt-cheap; it means better quality than expectations dictate. I suspect other reviewers have discounted this wine solely because of its reasonable price. Nonetheless, this Chardonnay is right in...
VATICAN RECIPES
Due to all the clamor and ink spilt soon after Pope Francis’ election because of his pre-papacy simple lifestyle and taste in food while Archbishop of Buenos Aires, which he continued to prefer as Pope, I became curious about what the popes before him ate. I was...
Babington’s Tearooms Celebrate its 125th Birthday
Since the 1700s for Northern Europeans on the “Grand Tour” all roads have led to Rome. They entered the Eternal City through the Porta del Popolo, a gate in the ancient Aurelian Walls built by Pope Sixtus IV for the Jubilee Year 1475, and took lodgings in and around...
DEACON’S NEW SOUTH – Creative Restaurant Concept Newly-Opened in the Heart of Downtown Nashville
Andy Marshall, best known for all of the Puckett's locations in and around Nashville, Tennessee, has scored a restaurant trifecta with the opening of Deacon's New South at the intersection of 4th Avenue North and Church Street. First, the location is perfectly...
FINE DINING IN AIRPORTS WORLDWIDE
I’ve always loved to travel, but still dread each departure when it involves an airport. Even before all the necessary security, airports already meant endless lines at check-in and passport control, crowds pushing in all directions, noise, confusion, and above all...
Casual dining at Napa’s River Terrace Inn Alba Restaurant
Visitors to the cradle of modern day wine country, the iconic Napa Valley, have discovered solace on the Napa River at the River Terrace Inn. Located on the banks of the Napa River, the cozy property is a member of the stellar, one-of-a-kind group of hotels managed by...
Oxford, Mississippi’s Debutante Farmer Bakes Her Famous Tomato Pie
Allow me to introduce you to Elizabeth Heiskell, better known at the Debutante Farmer in Oxford, Mississippi. I first met her at a "Taste of Oxford" event held in Birmingham, Alabama, and was delighted and intrigued from the moment I heard her Southern drawl. I...
Montepulciano: Cooking with the Master at Le Logge del Vignola
To take part in the preparation of traditional Italian dishes with a master of the culinary arts is every cook's dream. When my wife, a fantastic cook, and I (a so-so cook) had the opportunity to attend a Tuscan cooking class under the tutelage of Massimo,...
DZINTARS KRISTOVSKIS
I always begin my chef interviews with the question: Our tastes in food are closely connected to our childhood; what are your first memories of food? I completely agree with that. As I think back - we lived in a forest and the nearest store was something like 4.5...
Carrots in Scapece
This six-ingredient dish will joosh up your carrots and is equally delicious hot or cold. Plus, you can use those carrots that have begun to lose their crispness, so this one is an all-around winner! Perfect as a warm side dish, equally delicious as a cold picnic...
Maris and Kaspars Jansons: Two of “Rītiņš’ Boys”
Amsterdam is known as "Venice of the North" because of its canals and Riga is known as "Paris of the North" because of its post-Communist culinary Renaissance. The pioneer of this Renaissance is Mārtīņš Rītiņš, who through his show on national television brought...
DON’T MISS ROME’S LASTEST ATTRACTION
In keeping with the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, Rome is like a layer cake with monuments and art works dating from every period of history from 753 BC, when according to more than legend the Eternal City was founded by King Romulus, to the present. After...
The Art of the Braai: In search of authentic South African cuisine
Unable to tell a potjie from a bobotie, my wife and I arrived in Cape Town ready to eat. Armed with a list of must-try local specialties, we set out to explore the city in our favorite method: with our taste buds leading the way. As we sauntered down Cape Town’s...
All Roads Lead to Rome
Italy’s national newspaper, La Repubblica, has published guidebooks about Italy’s many regions since 2003. Its first and only guidebook in English is Roma Maxima: Stories, Places, and Secrets, Guidebook to an Eternal City. The first guidebooks to Rome, written for the...
MARJORIE SHAW: INSIDER’S ITALY ONLY A CLICK AWAY
I’ve lived in Rome for almost half a century but my connection to Italy goes back another ten years to 1957, when I boarded the SS Saturnia to travel to Naples, Pompei, Paestum, Rome, Turin, the Val Pellice, and Venice. My close friend Marjorie Shaw’s connection goes...
A Food Tour of rue Montorgueil—The Belly of Paris
The email said to meet where rue des Petits Carreaux and rue Réaumur cross...under the green arch...9:30 am sharp...rain or shine. Upon arrival, a young man approaches and introduces himself as Romain, my guide for the food tour of rue Montorgueil. To be honest, I...
Breakfast in Guadalajara
Earlier this year I spent several days in the historically rich capital of Jalisco, but I arrived in the middle of a national holiday, which brought a traffic tsunami that began taking its toll on the long, loud, dusty drive in from the airport to my hotel in...
“American” Fall Festivities in Italy
The United States and Italy have always shared only three holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, and Christmas, and one festivity Mardi Gras, not-to-be-missed in New Orleans and in Venice. Then, about two decades ago, for no apparent reason, but maybe because...
Postcard from Paris
I wouldn’t want to say that French trains and I don’t get along, but certainly our relationship has had something of the hit-or-miss about it. The first miss occurred before I even boarded a train. A Rail Europe agent had crowed about the ease of using an...
LIVING THE HIGH LIFE
“The hills are as alive” as ever. The residual summer snow on the crest of the mountains made it easy for me to envisage the winter season. A guaranteed white Christmas though snow has to be manufactured at times to satisfy the skiers. After a vigorous day out, be...
Who Invented Cappuccino?
That’s a good and still unanswered question. Most people think that cappuccino is an Italian drink, but few know that, yes, it may have been invented by an Italian, but definitely not in Italy, where it wasn’t even mentioned until the 1930s. Its birthplace was Vienna,...