Recent Posts

Frosé – the Perfect Summer Cocktail

August 29, 2016May 30, 2017

I don't remember where I first heard about Frosé. It had to have been on social media, but seemingly out of nowhere, Frosé took over all my feeds. Everyone was sitting outside in some gorgeously sunny and trendy locale drinking Frosé. I knew I had to give it a try. So... Read More

2010 Domaine Follin-Arbelet Clos du Chapitre Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru

August 26, 2016October 11, 2016 Burgundy

What a lovely, lovely wine. This is what I'm talking about when I say I love Burgundy. Today's wine is 100% Pinot Noir from a small village at the northern end of the Cote de Beaune sub-region of Burgundy. It is located on the plains below the Cote d'Or escarpment, just north of Beaune, in... Read More

Wine Wine Info

Red Wine Grapes

August 22, 2016October 11, 2016

Red wines get their color from extended contact between the grape juice and their skins during maceration and fermentation. Red wine grapes look anywhere from purple to bluish to almost black while they are hanging on the vine, and it's the pigments in the grape skins and the amount of time that... Read More

Wine Wine Info

White Wine Grapes

August 19, 2016October 11, 2016

In truth, any grape can be used to make white wine. The color of wine comes from skin contact during the winemaking process, so if you press the grapes and separate the juice from the skin, the skin will impart no color. This is probably most famously done in the... Read More

France Sauvignon Blanc Tasting Wine

2010 Didier Dagueneau Buisson Renard Pouilly-Fumé

August 8, 2016October 25, 2016 Loire

When you read about wine as much as I do, there are a bunch of winemakers/producers that you file away as important in their field. Mavericks, game-changers, the people that define styles, that create cult followings, that demand high prices for very small production wines. You do this without ever... Read More

Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee

August 3, 2016September 25, 2016

I first tried Blue Bottle in San Francisco a few years back, before I was the espresso-head I am today. I remember liking my latte, but went on with my life and they fell off my radar. Then last summer, while in NYC, I stumbled upon them again. Boy was... Read More

Breakfast How To Snacks

Summertime Smoothies

June 27, 2016September 25, 2016 breakfast, fruit, healthy, smoothie

In the summer, smoothies always sound like a good idea. Cold, fruity, what's not to love? But more often than not, when you buy a smoothie what you get is an overly sweet frozen drink that is closer to a fruit-flavored shake. Extra sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, no thank... Read More

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Tasting USA Wine Wine Info

Ridge Monte Bello

June 25, 2016September 25, 2016

I have been hearing raves about Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello for as long as I have been drinking wine. I've heard Monte Bello spoken of as "America’s First Growth," representing the American example of a classic Bordeaux blend in which Cabernet Sauvignon is the primary grape. Year after year Monte Bello receives... Read More

Wine Wine Info

Rosé, the wine you should be drinking this summer and all year long!

June 22, 2016September 26, 2016

For many, many years, I stuck up my nose at pink wine. Rosé. The sweet stuff that so many of my girlfriends seemed to adore. I just didn't like it and assumed that all pink wine was bad. How very wrong I was. If I'm going to be honest, my mind... Read More

Beverages Product Review

The Best Grocery Store Green Teas

June 19, 2016September 25, 2016 green tea, tea

All I want is a nice cup of green tea. I enjoy it hot and cold, sometimes plain, sometimes with a little honey or lemon, and sometimes I mix up a fruity punch. For many years, I drank Bigelow, then more recently upgraded to Tazo, the flavor was a little... Read More