2014 PINOT NOIR SUMMIT
To arrive at the wines for this year’s PINOT NOIR SUMMIT we tasted over 400 Pinots. We weedled that list down to the top forty-four wines, which ranged from $20 to $60 with an average price of $32. My favorite dozen were: Asuncion Ridge Vineyards, 2010 Estate, Central...
Wine Reviews November 2014
2012 Dry Creek Vineyard, Clarksburg, Chenin Blanc: In the mid-1970s Chenin Blanc was more popular than Chardonnay. But as it fell out of fashion Dry Creek Vineyards never gave up on it. They’ve been producing a Clarksburg Chenin for decades, and the current...
ASCHERI: Bra’s Premier Destination
While attending the Alba Wines Exhibition, I took the opportunity to visit Cantine Giacomo Ascheri, which quietly became a destination winery with the 2007 opening of a hotel and restaurant on-premise in Bra (the capital of the Roero area and the center of the Slow...
THE EPICUREAN TRAVELER in PIEMONTE
Text and photos © Scott W Clemens For the epicurean traveler, Northern Italy is a revelation of spectacular vistas, romantic hill towns, unexpectedly diverse cultures, wonderful food, and a plethora of finely crafted wines from indigenous grapes. To get an idea of the...
On Two Wheels in Washington Wine Country: A Soul-Satisfying Balance
by Lisa RichardsonPhotos by: John Murphy, James and Lisa RichardsonAn exhilarating adventure is akin to these tasting notes: Balboa Winery, 2009 Reserve, Columbia Valley, Eidolon, Candy Mountain and Pepper Bridge Vineyards — 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah,...
Dipping into the Cellar
In the early part of my career as a wine writer, when I was reviewing wine for both Vintage magazine and Wine & Spirits Buying Guide, I tasted around 450 wines a month at the office, and I received a few samples at home from producers wishing to be reviewed....
The 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition
©2012 The San Francisco International Wine Competition is the largest international wine competition in the United States. This year it took a staff of 80 to keep the wheels turning flawlessly, so the 49 professional wine judges could taste through a record...
The 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition
©2012 The San Francisco International Wine Competition is the largest international wine competition in the United States. This year it took a staff of 80 to keep the wheels turning flawlessly, so the 49 professional wine judges could taste through a record...
PENDERYN WELSH WHISKY
Text and photos ©2009 The two-lane road to Penderyn winds up the mountain and across a broad, windswept heath at the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park in southern Wales. It’s a forbidding landscape, barren except for coarse grass grazed by scattered sheep. The...
TRAVELING ACROSS SPAIN WITH THE OSBORNE BULL
Despite the appearance of tradition in the wine business, few family-owned operations have survived more than 200 years. Politics, wars, economics, tax laws, family squabbles and miss-steps by managing members have often led to takeovers by multi-national...
Victual* Bits
Here are some tips, tricks, and shortcuts that I have come across or invented in the course of my foodie journey, ones that I think readers may enjoy. While I make every effort to give credit where it is due, many of these ideas may have become so much a part of my...
Dining Our Way Around Adventures in the Gorge in West Virginia
There is a long list of reasons why you should visit the amazing Adventures on the Gorge. Located in the startlingly beautiful New River Gorge in the Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia, which is part of the New River Gorge National Park, it’s not only in...
Hot-off-the-Press: L’Espresso’s Roster of Italy’s Top Toques
In the last scene of Billy Wilder’s 1959 American comedy film, “Some Like it Hot”, starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis, Jerry played by Jack Lemmon gives a long list of reasons to Osgood played by Joe E. Brown why they can’t marry. Osgood dismisses...
Catania x2
“Coastal Italian” is an inviting descriptor for the restaurant on the top floor at Wall and Girard. So I went twice. Initially, we were a group of journalists hosted for Saturday lunch at...
LA TAGLIATA – A MEMORABLE EVENING IN POSITANO, ITALY
Step inside the door, and you will feel like distant cousins arriving for a much-anticipated family reunion. Momma and her helpers stir, sauté, and ladle in the kitchen. Papa smiles, greets, and oversees the smooth operation. Sons, cousins, and uncles wait tables...
Dining in a 10,000 Year Old Cavern in Riviera Maya
Dining in a 10,000 Year Old Cavern in Riviera Maya One step inside Alux Restaurant and we knew we were in for one memorable night. It was my husband’s and my first trip to Riviera Maya and we were looking for adventure- even in dining. And this place had it all....
SOS For ITALY’S CHEESE
Like pizza, pasta, espresso coffee, and gelato parmigiano reggiano, produced in the approved areas of the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Mantua is a quintessential Italian food product. Recent statistics recount that c. 240,000 cows, mostly...
IFAD’s “Recipes for Change”
To celebrate 2015’s “World Environment Day” on June 3 the Rome-headquartered International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) partnered with Italian celebrity chef, Carlo Cracco, to bring attention to the negative impact of climate change on many traditional...
Head to Asia for Truly Authentic Culinary Experiences
The sweet scent of freshly grated coconut, the sizzle of chilis in a hot wok, a face full of fragrant steam from a bowl of pho — in Asia, food is a complete sensory experience. There are few more accessible or enjoyable ways to immerse yourself in a destination than...
Zaré at The Fly Trap
"I was supposed to be a brain surgeon," Chef offered, grinning ear to ear. His presence is as bold as his red chef coat. The Persian/ Mediterranean/Californian menu is brilliant. At The Fly Trap, Hoss Zaré builds upon lessons from his mother's kitchen, playfully....
Where Train Tracks and Food intersect in Dalat, Vietnam
Located in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the picturesque town of Dalat is a corner of France in the tropics. Created as a hill station from a barren plateau in the early 20th century by the French colonial powers, modern-day Dalat retains much of its European...
It’s Not Too Late for a Michigan Ski Getaway Weekend!
Although daffodils are poking their little, bright yellow heads up in certain parts of the country, there are still plenty of snow and skiing options available in northern Michigan. Snow doesn't melt in these parts until late in the Spring and there are lots of...
Duluth — An Uncommon Vacation
Our suite at South Pier Inn, with a warming fire and a jetted tub, commanded a 270-degree view encompassing the blue water of Superior Bay and the Aerial Lift Bridge at the entrance to Lake Superior. In the morning the surface of the bay was a glistening white slab of...
Delicious NOLA
The city beckoned as the 737 landed mid-afternoon at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. We craved NOLA’s offerings and anticipated people and places prepared to satisfy. Four days and three nights later, ten highlights are too delicious to keep to...
Traveling to Tuscany?
FutureBrand, the international business evaluation company, surveyed thousands of people to describe countries worldwide in a few words. The three most frequent for Italy were culture, beauty, and food. Without a doubt food is a “driver” when it comes to...
AUTUMN IN VERMONT
text and photos ©2012 Driving down nearly deserted roads during the first two weeks of October, I couldn't help but wonder, 'If this is the busy season, what is Vermont like in the off-season.' This, after all, was the “high season” as tourists flock to see the...
THE FORGOTTEN COAST: Favorite day-trips from San Francisco (Part Two) a local perspective
Text and photos ©2014 Through television series and advertisements, millions who have never been to California are nonetheless familiar with the sunny beaches of southern California, the dramatic cliffs of Big Sur, the rocky shores of Pebble Beach, the...
The Epicurean Traveler on Italy’s Adriatic Wine Road
It seems that every inch of Italy is “wine country,” though some areas are more popular than others. Popularity comes with a higher price and more fellow tourists to contend with. Even at the height of summer, Italy’s Adriatic coast is free of the hoards of tourists...
MOLISE
Molise is a tiny region with just 28 kilometers of seaside and very limited tourism. Wine has been made here since pre-Roman times, and was commented upon by Pliny the Elder. Today the area has about 49,000 acres under vine, grown on the long, low hills that stretch...
ABRUZZO
The political divisions along the Adriatic are merely arbitrary human delineations and bear only cursory resemblance to the landforms, so I think I should take a moment here to set the topography in the reader’s mind. Behind Molise, the mountains rise to about 3,000...