Thinking & Drinking

this week I joined the wine team at Wild Ginger and The Triple Door as a sommelier. After my first day I realized how much I miss being in a restaurant every day.

Here are links to the Seattle Homes and Lifestyles articles I have written over the last year, including the article on values for the Current issue.  More than a little fun stuff here, including articles about Greek Wines, an interview with Angelo Gaja, lots about values, and a whole lot more.  I have warm feelings [...]

I wanted to share some of the magazine articles I have written in the last year.  Here is a link to a PDF of the wine feature that I did for Seattle Magazine for their 2008 wine issue (August).  I worked with Shannon Borg, the regular wine writer at Seattle Magazine for this piece.  The [...]

Châteaneuf-du-Pape Blanc is a wine that won’t get written about much for the next year or so because writers and editors have embraced a very narrow definition of Value in these financially strained times. It’s a shame. A bottle of 2004 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe reminded me just how much I love these wines. Click the headline to read on . . .

By 2005, an outstanding vintage on all accounts, David had accumulated a bit (1.5 ha) of land, and made nearly 6,000 bottles of wine (bottles, not cases). The wines are stunning. His meticulous vineyard practices and hard work (he is his only employee) have endeared him to his neighbors, and some of the best vignerons in Burgundy sing his praises . . . Christophe Roumier even sold him a small plot of Gamay to use for his Bourgogne Passetoutgrains

What is the best food for Champagne? Some say caviar, some say oysters, and I agree that both are better than good, but neither is the best. The best food for Champagne is . . . click the headline to find out.

This is one of my favorite white wines that nobody has ever heard of. Just thinking about the charmingly old-fashioned label spawns waves of good thoughts. Read more by clicking the headline.

This is my favorite new (to me) Champagne that I have tried this year. I thought it would be a nice way to end the year.

Most of the bottles didn’t have labels. When I asked one of the staff why, expecting a conspiracy not to acknowledge the American provenance of the bottles, she told me a great, true, story.

I was at The Herbfarm last night, filling in as a Sommelier, and was totally blown away by the menu. The new Chef, Keith Luce is putting out really, really good food.

The frustrating part of the tasting wasn’t that the wines were bad — in fact there were a lot that were quite good, or that the tasting was badly organized (topic for another time), but rather that some ofthe best wines, and a stunning brandy that was being shown, aren’t currently available in the United States.

Holiday meals tend to be rich, and many of the dishes are even sweet, and often heavily influenced by spices. With food like this, the worry isn’t that the food will be overwhelmed, but that it will overwhelm the wines. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the times to bring out the bruisers. For rich, intensely-flavored foods, it is crucial that the wine is equally rich and flavorful: this can mean big fruit, big oak, and even big alcohol.

The frustrating part of the tasting wasn’t that the wines were bad — in fact there were a lot that were quite good, or that the tasting was badly organized (topic for another time), but rather that some ofthe best wines, and a stunning brandy that was being shown, aren’t currently available in the United States.

This is my favorite new (to me) Champagne that I have tried this year. I thought it would be a nice way to end the year.

This is one of my favorite white wines that nobody has ever heard of. Just thinking about the charmingly old-fashioned label spawns waves of good thoughts. Read more by clicking the headline.

By 2005, an outstanding vintage on all accounts, David had accumulated a bit (1.5 ha) of land, and made nearly 6,000 bottles of wine (bottles, not cases). The wines are stunning. His meticulous vineyard practices and hard work (he is his only employee) have endeared him to his neighbors, and some of the best vignerons in Burgundy sing his praises . . . Christophe Roumier even sold him a small plot of Gamay to use for his Bourgogne Passetoutgrains

Châteaneuf-du-Pape Blanc is a wine that won’t get written about much for the next year or so because writers and editors have embraced a very narrow definition of Value in these financially strained times. It’s a shame. A bottle of 2004 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe reminded me just how much I love these wines. Click the headline to read on . . .

The frustrating part of the tasting wasn’t that the wines were bad — in fact there were a lot that were quite good, or that the tasting was badly organized (topic for another time), but rather that some ofthe best wines, and a stunning brandy that was being shown, aren’t currently available in the United States.

What is the best food for Champagne? Some say caviar, some say oysters, and I agree that both are better than good, but neither is the best. The best food for Champagne is . . . click the headline to find out.

This is my favorite new (to me) Champagne that I have tried this year. I thought it would be a nice way to end the year.

Holiday meals tend to be rich, and many of the dishes are even sweet, and often heavily influenced by spices. With food like this, the worry isn’t that the food will be overwhelmed, but that it will overwhelm the wines. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the times to bring out the bruisers. For rich, intensely-flavored foods, it is crucial that the wine is equally rich and flavorful: this can mean big fruit, big oak, and even big alcohol.

I was at The Herbfarm last night, filling in as a Sommelier, and was totally blown away by the menu. The new Chef, Keith Luce is putting out really, really good food.

This is my favorite new (to me) Champagne that I have tried this year. I thought it would be a nice way to end the year.

The frustrating part of the tasting wasn’t that the wines were bad — in fact there were a lot that were quite good, or that the tasting was badly organized (topic for another time), but rather that some ofthe best wines, and a stunning brandy that was being shown, aren’t currently available in the United States.

Holiday meals tend to be rich, and many of the dishes are even sweet, and often heavily influenced by spices. With food like this, the worry isn’t that the food will be overwhelmed, but that it will overwhelm the wines. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the times to bring out the bruisers. For rich, intensely-flavored foods, it is crucial that the wine is equally rich and flavorful: this can mean big fruit, big oak, and even big alcohol.

What is the best food for Champagne? Some say caviar, some say oysters, and I agree that both are better than good, but neither is the best. The best food for Champagne is . . . click the headline to find out.

I was at The Herbfarm last night, filling in as a Sommelier, and was totally blown away by the menu. The new Chef, Keith Luce is putting out really, really good food.

Châteaneuf-du-Pape Blanc is a wine that won’t get written about much for the next year or so because writers and editors have embraced a very narrow definition of Value in these financially strained times. It’s a shame. A bottle of 2004 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe reminded me just how much I love these wines. Click the headline to read on . . .

The frustrating part of the tasting wasn’t that the wines were bad — in fact there were a lot that were quite good, or that the tasting was badly organized (topic for another time), but rather that some ofthe best wines, and a stunning brandy that was being shown, aren’t currently available in the United States.

This is one of my favorite white wines that nobody has ever heard of. Just thinking about the charmingly old-fashioned label spawns waves of good thoughts. Read more by clicking the headline.

By 2005, an outstanding vintage on all accounts, David had accumulated a bit (1.5 ha) of land, and made nearly 6,000 bottles of wine (bottles, not cases). The wines are stunning. His meticulous vineyard practices and hard work (he is his only employee) have endeared him to his neighbors, and some of the best vignerons in Burgundy sing his praises . . . Christophe Roumier even sold him a small plot of Gamay to use for his Bourgogne Passetoutgrains

this week I joined the wine team at Wild Ginger and The Triple Door as a sommelier. After my first day I realized how much I miss being in a restaurant every day.

Holiday meals tend to be rich, and many of the dishes are even sweet, and often heavily influenced by spices. With food like this, the worry isn’t that the food will be overwhelmed, but that it will overwhelm the wines. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the times to bring out the bruisers. For rich, intensely-flavored foods, it is crucial that the wine is equally rich and flavorful: this can mean big fruit, big oak, and even big alcohol.

The frustrating part of the tasting wasn’t that the wines were bad — in fact there were a lot that were quite good, or that the tasting was badly organized (topic for another time), but rather that some ofthe best wines, and a stunning brandy that was being shown, aren’t currently available in the United States.

Most of the bottles didn’t have labels. When I asked one of the staff why, expecting a conspiracy not to acknowledge the American provenance of the bottles, she told me a great, true, story.

This is my favorite new (to me) Champagne that I have tried this year. I thought it would be a nice way to end the year.

Châteaneuf-du-Pape Blanc is a wine that won’t get written about much for the next year or so because writers and editors have embraced a very narrow definition of Value in these financially strained times. It’s a shame. A bottle of 2004 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe reminded me just how much I love these wines. Click the headline to read on . . .

Most of the bottles didn’t have labels. When I asked one of the staff why, expecting a conspiracy not to acknowledge the American provenance of the bottles, she told me a great, true, story.

I wanted to share some of the magazine articles I have written in the last year.  Here is a link to a PDF of the wine feature that I did for Seattle Magazine for their 2008 wine issue (August).  I worked with Shannon Borg, the regular wine writer at Seattle Magazine for this piece.  The [...]

Here are links to the Seattle Homes and Lifestyles articles I have written over the last year, including the article on values for the Current issue.  More than a little fun stuff here, including articles about Greek Wines, an interview with Angelo Gaja, lots about values, and a whole lot more.  I have warm feelings [...]