Outsiders are a group of some of Languedoc-Roussillon’s best and most creative producers who have relocated to the region. The tasting last November in London was a wine highlight of the year. A few members were at the London International Wine Fair to support their importers and wrapped up one of the long days with a get together, along with their founder Louise Hurren, to say a few words, chat and share a few bottles. This was a chance to drink rather than taste. The newest Outsiders member is Domaine Sainte Rose – with the exception of La Grange de Quatre Sous the one I’ve known the longest, starting with Charles and Ruth Simpson’s first harvest back in 2002. Les Derniers Cépages 2009 is from late ripening Mourvèdre... »View More
I spent my first day grape picking this year at Régis and Christine Pichon’s Domaine Ribiera in my village Aspiran. 7 am start yes, but at least there was no commute involved. To my surprise it was going to be Grenache and the 22nd August was believed to be the earliest recorded day for a Grenache harvest the village had know. That said, the objective was to make a fresh and expressive wine for drinking young which is not too rich and not too alcoholic. To achieve this the Grenache was being picked “early” and the instructions were to discard all unripe bunches that, by my estimation, amounted to 30% of the crop. Once it starts to ripen Grenache apparently ripens quickly so waiting until those 30% of bunches were ripe would... »View More
The week in the life of a wine freak / fan / aficionado. Call me what you will…even a juice junkie! A Monday evening…and I was expecting a visit from David Stephensen…a fellow Spätburgunder lover….over in Germany on holiday…packing the car with the wine and visiting friends. He took my advice and visited the Gasthof Rebstock in Waldulm and stayed 3 days. His favourite wine one evening had been Gantenbein 2007…the cult wine from Switzerland. We had never met…and he called when he arrived at the railway station…and I was on my bike and found him and we were off to the local Bistro. Two bottles had been deposited at midday and I had covered them up. Willi SattlerSauvignon Blanc Privat 2006 South... »View More
A recommended recipe to prepare wine at home is shown as follows: Extract the flavor and aroma from the base ingredients by chopping, crushing, pressing, boiling or soaking them. Add sugar, acid, nutrients, and yeast to the fermentation media or liquor to achieve the proper ratio and ferment, covered, for 3 to 10 days in a primary fermentation vessel (crock, jar or polyethylene pail) at 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Strain off the liquid from the pulp, put it (the liquid) into a secondary fermentation vessel (a carboy or jug), fit a fermentation trap (airlock) on the mouth of the bottle, and allow fermentation to proceed at 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit until all bubbling ceases (after several weeks). Siphon the wine off the sediments (lees) into another... »View More
I didn’t really have any plans to celebrate the 7th anniversary of the blog, and after a busy week had thought that I’d just grill some burgers and take it easy. But I awoke early on Saturday with cravings for good food, Northern Italian style, and the knowledge that a pair of Super Tuscans could make it all incredible. I hit a couple of ethnic markets around town for ingredients and was able to perform Act I by lunchtime. When most people in the US crave “Italian” food, the menu sticks to the Southern Italian and Sicilian recipes as they’ve become adapted into the distinct Italian-American cuisine of the 20th century: spaghetti, pizza, lasagna… Noodles and cheese and red sauce. When I visited Italy... »View More
New Year’s made for a fun weekend this year. I waited until almost the last minute to pick up some bubbly for the occasion, and decided to go visit wine retailer, fellow blogger, and friend Michael Hughes at Joe’s Wines & Liquors. I let him pick out everything for me. Now, for the reader this might be confusing. Yes, there are thousands of wine reviews here on this site, and I’d like to think I can work my way around a wine shop or a wine list without too much difficulty. But Michael knows what I like, he knows his stock, and can point me in the direction of something I might have otherwise ignored. For instance, on December 30th I served this with dinner: 2007 Giovanni Galliano Brut RoséPiedmont, Italy100% Pinot... »View More
On the Friday before Christmas, I was on my home from work and looking forward to dinner and a movie with Julia. I had a pair of Rieslings chilling back at the house, but wasn’t in the mood to cook. I was instead in the mood for something very specific: Vietnamese soup. She’d never had phở before, and I was looking forward to that particular culinary introduction as well as satisfying my own craving for some thinly sliced beef in hot broth with lots of other goodies. We started off with gỏi cuốn and tương xào followed by phở gà for Julia and phở tái bò viên for me. (Or those soft rice wrapper rolls with shrimp and lettuce, chicken breast and chicken broth for her and sliced beef plus meatballs in my bowl.)... »View More
Merry Christmas, y’all. I’ve always loved this photo I took in 2004 the night that my brother proposed to his now-wife. Memphis experienced a a rare White Christmas and the proposal took place on the top floor of The Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. The ballroom was still decorated for Christmas and with, for some reason, Canadian flags. I have a lot of great pictures from that whole experience, but I revisit this photo often. I’ve lived my whole life in a metro area of a million souls, something considered “The Big City” by everyone in a 300 mile radius, but still not big by city standards. While I’ve spent time around Christmas in smaller towns, I’ve only twice done so in bigger towns: 1996... »View More