Subject:

Wine

  • Blogs

    December 30, 2011

    Wine Time: Know Your Champagne from your Chamat

    Antonomasia is the figure of rhetoric whereby a proper name becomes a common name. In the U.S., we say Xerox for photocopy. Kleenex for tissue paper. FedEx for courier (as in I FedExed a package). And here in Texas, we say Coke for nearly any kind of sparkling soft drink. But when we call a Prosec ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 29, 2011

    10 Things You Didn't Know About Champagne

    ​If you're anything like me, you don't know how to make graceful small talk at parties without resorting to an awkward recitation of facts within your narrow range of interest: Ethiopian food, maps, the history of the Gulf Oil building... New Year's Eve parties aren't any better or worse than ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 23, 2011

    5 Tips for Serving Champagne and Sparkling Wine

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.For the second night of Hanukkah, we made potato pancakes (latkes) and paired with sparkling Vouvray.​Even if you missed our Top 5 Champagnes Under $60 for the Holidays, you'll find that your favorite wine shop will have a tide of options when it comes to sparkling wine ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 15, 2011

    Top 5 Champagnes Under $60 for the Holidays

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.Remember: Champagne doesn't have to be white. Rosé Champagne is often considered the more "muscular" expression of the appellation. Look for Bollinger Rosé, Ruinart Rosé, and our favorite, Billecart Salmon Rosé.​Okay, folks. There's good news and there's bad news. ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 9, 2011

    Wine & Truffle Dinner at Valentino Vin Bar

    Photos by Christina UticoneDolcetto d'Alba​As if a wine hangover weren't bad enough, did you know you can actually get a truffle hangover? I woke up with one after five luscious courses of food at the recent Truffle & Wine dinner held at Valentino. Who can resist a hook like white truffles -- ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 9, 2011

    Odd Pair: Wine and Soup

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.​Whether we're making Tuscan ribollita, Mexican tortilla soup, or French soupe à l'oignon, wine is always a key ingredient at our house (where there's always a spare cup of wine in the kitchen). And while the sugar is the main component of the wine that adds flavor to ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 7, 2011

    Top 5 Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Photo by Jeremy Parzen.Decanters by Riedel take wine service to a higher level of aesthetic pleasure. ​If you're ever invited to dine in someone's home in France, please don't bring a bottle of wine. Nothing will spur a French host to recoil in abject dishonor and displeasure than the gift of ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 2, 2011

    Odd Pair: Ice Cubes and Chardonnay (Water and Wine)

    Back in the 1990s, when a new awareness of fine wine began to emerge in the U.S., the combination of "ice cubes in your Chardonnay" became a sort of litmus test, a line in the sand dividing those who knew and appreciated fine wine and those who didn't. Even today, when we're invited for over for d ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 1, 2011

    Messina Hof Has the Best Wine in Texas, According to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

    This year, more than 2,500 wines were entered into the annual Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo's International Wine Competition. Of those entries, 736 were from Texas wineries. And of those Texas wineries, Messina Hof swept up 20 medals and the coveted title of Top Texas Wine for its 2004 Solara, whic ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 30, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    Another Wine Blog: Love born in the blogosphere. It's a beautiful thing. A few weeks ago, when I shared a glass of stinky, delicious Cortese (from Piedmont) with tandem wine bloggers Amy and Joe Power, authors of Another Wine Blog, they told me the story of how they met in the "pre-blog" era, in a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 25, 2011

    Odd Pair: Asparagus and Wine

    Today we think of asparagus as one of the standard vegetable side dishes in the contemporary canon of American gastronomy. But in another era, asparagus was considered one of the world's greatest delicacies: The insatiable King Louis XIV built greenhouses so that he could eat asparagus all year rou ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 17, 2011

    10 Thanksgiving Wines (That We Actually Drink)

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.Dolcetto can deliver character without overwhelming the palate or breaking the bank.​Yes, folks, it's that predictable time of year when everyone posts their Thanksgiving wine recommendations. Among the literally hundreds of blogs and feeds that I follow, one of my favo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 14, 2011

    Wine of the Week: An "Old Vine" Zinfandel from California (Where Else?)

    Photo by Jeremy Parzen.The "Old Vine" Zinfandel by Bogle showed judicious restraint in its alcohol content and concentration.​What does the designation "old vine" mean, anyway? And how did it come to be a "brand name" for California wines in the 2000s? Vine age is a key element in the qualit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 14, 2011

    What Do Wine and Saddles Have In Common? The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

    ​Over the course of a weekend, volunteers with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo wash 20,000 wine glasses in two days. It's just one of the staggering statistics behind the annual International Wine Competition, the contest that leads to the Rodeo Uncorked! Wine Show and to a few lucky wineri ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 11, 2011

    10 Tips for Holiday Wine Shopping

    Photo by Jeremy Parzen.Top Texas wine blogger Italian Wine Guy knows a thing or two about how frustrating wine shopping can be.​As you head to your local wine seller to stock up on holiday wines, here are 10 tips for smart wine shopping. 1) Find a shop that offers a mixed case discount. Most ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 4, 2011

    Wine Time: Wine and Sulfur Dioxide

    Image via HomeBrewers.com.No, that's not cocaine. It's potassium metabisulfite, one of the many forms of sulfites employed by winemakers for a variety of purposes.​A post earlier this week ("Wine of the Week: A Wine with No Detectable Sulfites") inspired a lot of acidic (pun intended) discussi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 2, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    Photo via @SanCrittenden.Houston wine blogger Sandra Crittenden.​Wine Thoughts: One of the things that we love about Sandra Crittenden's blog Wine Thoughts is how she seamlessly alternates between a big, boisterous Chilean red that she picked up at the Tasting Room for "approximately $100," an ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 2, 2011

    Top 12 Wines Under $15 for the Holidays

    A $10 sparkling wine for the holidays: Toso is one of our top picks.​Last night, Whole Foods Market introduced its Top 10 wines for the holidays -- except that this year, like the days of Christmas, there are actually 12. Historically, some of the recommended wines have been held up at custom ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 21, 2011

    Odd Pair: Wine and Legs (or Tears That Rhyme with Ears)

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.The legs of 2005 Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss by Gaja (Piedmont, Italy), tasted this week in Houston.​How many times have you been at a dinner party and heard some blowhard say something like the following (uttered with a fake British accent): Observe carefully: After swirli ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 18, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Another Oaky Buttery Chardonnay

    Photo by Jeremy Parzen.The marketing campaign by Educated Guess wines is one of the most successful in recent history.​Yesterday, after arriving at the Newark, NJ airport from Milan, Italy (where I admired a statue of Leonardo da Vinci across from the famous Scala opera house), I headed straig ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 14, 2011

    Odd Pair: Top 5 Wines to Take to Burger Guys

    Photos by Jeremy ParzenDuck fat fries at the Burger Guys.​A few weeks ago, in the first part of this series, we quoted one of the top chefs in the U.S. today, Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin in New York, on the virtues of the fast food burger in our country. "There is something about these ingred ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 13, 2011

    Ingredient of the Week: Cabernet Sauvignon

    Photo by John SuhA good cheap wine from Costco​What is it? Cabernet Sauvignon is a dry red wine discovered during the 17th century by crossing the Cabernet Franc and the Sauvignon Blanc grape varieties. Its origins are in the Bordeaux region of France, but it has since spread all over the wo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 12, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    ​Blue State Carpetbagger's Red State Wine Blog: When Tom "Bighouse" Casagrande's brother comes to town for a visit, the Houston-based wine blogger pulls out all the stops. But that doesn't mean that good value wasn't on his mind. Tom opened some good stuff for his bro, including a 2007 Story ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 10, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Brunello di Montalcino

    This week finds me on my annual pilgrimage to Montalcino (in the province of Siena, Tuscany), land of one of the world's most famous and highly prized wines, Brunello di Montalcino. That's the ancient and now extinct volcano Mount Amiata in the photo (taken on Saturday morning at daybreak in the vi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 6, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    Vintage Texas: Budget cuts by the Texas legislature have slashed funding for the promotion of Texas wines, reports Houston-based blogger and wine writer Russ Kane, author of the top Texas wine and winery blog, Vintage Texas. In an email sent to "partners" of the "Texas Wine Marketing Program" (and r ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 3, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Biodynamic Lees-Aged Grüner Veltliner

    Although Nicolas Joly is widely hailed as the father of biodynamic grape-growing and winemaking in Europe today; the Nikolaihof estate in the Wachau region of Austria is generally considered to be the first biodynamic winery in the world. (The pan-agricultural biodynamic movement was founded by Aust ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 28, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    Wine & Spirits: For the second year in a row, a Texan has been named one of the best new sommeliers in the U.S. by Wine & Spirits Magazine (last year, Houston native Mark Sayre brought the accolade to the Lone Star State). Austin-based sommelier June Rodil (previously wine director for Uciko and now ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 26, 2011

    Wine of the Week: An Under-$25 Fresh, Clean Sparkler

    ​Whenever it comes to sparkling wine, the comparison to Champagne is inevitable. Together with Bordeaux and Burgundy, wine regions that the British embraced as benchmarks for fine wine in the 19th century, the Champagne "brand" is so powerful that it pervades nearly every discussion of spar ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 23, 2011

    Odd Pair: Kolaches and a Californian Rosé

    ​Out in California where I grew up, no one's ever heard of a kolache. However gastronomically inclined and aware, I didn't know what a kolache was until I moved to Texas three years ago. Since that time, the savory, flaky, crumbly, often gooey, and always deliciously homey sensorial experience ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 19, 2011

    Odd Pair: Top 5 Wines to Pair with Pizza

    ​Above: "Pizza al Trancio" (Pizza by the Slice) in Rome, paired with Coca Cola. Here in the U.S., we don't think of it as an "odd pair." But in Italy, homeland of pizza and a country where wine is considered an essential element of healthy dining, pizza and wine are rarely if ever paired. Do ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 14, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    ​Another Wine Blog: "Don't be a Wine Spectator," writes Amy Corron Power this week on the blog she co-authors with her husband Joe. Amy and Joe often express their skepticism when it comes to wine reviews and wine blogging, and Amy offers some good advice in this post: "The best way to tell ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 12, 2011

    Wine of the Week: A Rosé from the Texas Hill Country

    ​The more I read about Texas Hill Country winemaker and San Antonio endocrinologist Richard Becker, the more I am intrigued. Any doctor-cum-vintner who quotes readily from one of my favorite 20th-century American poets, Wallace Stevens, sounds like someone who puts more thought into the art an ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 9, 2011

    Odd Pair: Turkey Chili, Fritos, French's, and Demi-Sec Vouvray

    ​Labor Day weekend found us in Orange, Texas, visiting with Tracie P's parents and family. Following our nephew Brady's football game, Mrs. B -- my mother-in-law -- had a lot of hungry mouths to feed on a rainy East Texas evening, including her three grandchildren, a six-months pregnant daught ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 7, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    Know a Houston-based blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. ​TweetChat #TXWine: If you've been following along here at Wine Time, you know that Texas wines have been on our minds. We found out about the TweetChat #TXWines thanks to t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 6, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Texas Blanc du Bois

    ​Above: Blanc du Bois grapes from the 2010 harvest at the Cruz de Comal Winery in the Texas Hill Country. To tell the story of winemaking in Texas today, we need to start with what happened in California back in the 1970s and the way wine has been marketed historically in the U.S. When I was ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 2, 2011

    Odd Pair: Pseudo-Italian Sports Bar and French Wine

    ​Let's face it: No matter how you dress or slice the meatballs (more on that below), if you have ESPN constantly streaming on monitors that hover above your bar and dining room, you are a sports bar -- even if you slap ristorante italiano onto the name of your restaurant. According to its web ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 19, 2011

    Odd Pair: Cheeseburger and Barbaresco

    ​My friend and blogging colleague Franco Ziliani -- Italy's top wine blogger and veteran enojournalist -- is always astonished at how Americans "apply" the great wines of Italy. In Europe, the food and wine canon guides the "user" in ensuring that the wine will be enjoyed to the fullest by pa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 17, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    ​Eats Blog: Texas has a new top sommelier, and his name is Bill Elsey (right), winner of the "best sommelier in Texas" competition held each year at the Texas Sommelier Conference. The title was conferred late yesterday afternoon in Irving, Texas on the last day of the event, and the news spre ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 16, 2011

    Wine of the Week: A Desert Island Wine from Lebanon

    ​Wine professionals get the question all the time: What's your favorite wine? When I get asked this question (and I get it all the time), I always respond with my stock answer: It depends on what I'm eating (never wine without food, never food without wine). In other words, if it's raw oysters ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 15, 2011

    Despite Blue Laws, Texas Sommelier Conference Opens on Schedule

    ​"You'll note that there are pastries in the foyer," said Master Sommelier James Tidwell, as he and Houston's own Master Sommelier, Drew Hendricks, opened the Texas Sommelier Conference promptly at 9 a.m. yesterday morning at the Four Seasons Las Colinas Resort in Irving, Texas. The two co-fou ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 12, 2011

    Odd Pair: What Wine Do You Serve with Doritos?

    ​When asked what factors had shaped his palate and his wine collection when he first began collecting fine wine, rockstar (literally, not just figuratively) and winemaker Maynard James Keenan answered: "Mountain Dew and Doritos. Like most American kids, that's what I grew up on." This was a fe ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 10, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    GenBug​Know a Houston-based blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Vintage Texas: Once again this week, we lead with top Texas wine blogger and Houstonian Russ Kane, who contemplates the age-old conundrum of the modern era: "Can a re ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 8, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Pinot Noir Isn't the New Merlot

    ​Three years ago, when I attended a talk by Wine & Spirits Magazine editor-in-chief Josh Greene at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California, he discussed the rising popularity of Pinot Noir and its eclipse of Merlot as the by-the-glass go-to grape among young wine profes ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 1, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Orange Wine (Yes, Orange)

    ​White wine, rosé wine, red wine, orange wine... Orange wine? Qu'est-ce que c'est? No, it's not a wine concocted by Longhorn fans. (They call UT the orange tide? Call me Deacon Blue Nun). Orange wine is a loosely codified category of winemaking and winemakers who macerate the juice obtained ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 29, 2011

    Odd Pair: Fish and Red Wine

    ​Whenever I am faced with a conundrum like the age-old question of whether or not it is imperative to pair white wine exclusively with fish, I look to antiquity. Indeed, in more cases than not, the ancients were much wiser and more well informed than we are. And as I pore over (excuse the p ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 25, 2011

    TexSom Has Som-thing for Everyone

    ​Last year, when I traveled to Friuli, Italy with a group of top U.S. sommeliers, I overheard their fearless and übercool leader, Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey, tell his colleagues, "Every state should have a TexSom." He was referring to the Texas Sommelier Conference, the annual Texas win ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 22, 2011

    Upcoming Events

    ​A reminder that if you love craft beer and want to see its sale and distribution made easier across the State of Texas, show up to Moon Tower Inn this Saturday at 4 p.m. for the launch party of Open the Taps. The founders will be there to address questions as well as to start fundraising effo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 20, 2011

    The Generous Pour Event at Capital Grille

    Our server, Susan, kept us happy with "generous pours" during the Generous Pour Event​To truly understand wine, its complexity, what distinguishes a good wine from bad one, and how it should pair with food, takes years of study. That's why there are only 171 Master Sommeliers in the world, and ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 18, 2011

    Wine of the Week: The Other Burgundy

    ​Sunday night at our house means sexy vampires and crochety Jews on television (read "True Blood" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm") -- an odd pair, no doubt! And T.V. night at our house means home cooking (even though we've been eating in most nights since we got pregnant, if not to save money than ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 15, 2011

    Zelko Bistro Puts Female Winemakers and Craft Beer Front and Center

    Photo by Tam VoChef Jamie Zelko.​Zelko Bistro, although it's only been open for less than two years, has already garnered a reputation for its wine list: Aggressively priced, the list offers an excellent selection of wines between $28 and $46 a bottle. Chef and owner Jamie Zelko wanted it that ... More >>

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