The Types of Port Wine
Port is a sweet, high-alcohol fortified wine produced in northern Portugal. Learn about the different types of Port wine, and what makes each one unique.
Food & Wine
Be a Better Cook: Make Fantastic Salads
Learn how to properly make a great salad, and you’ll instantly improve your status as a home cook. Wow your guests, starting with the first course!
Tips for Going On a Wine Tour
Wine tours are about more than just the wines; they are about enjoying the entire wine experience! Here are some great tips for planning your next wine tour.
Ingredient of the Month: Fresh Corn
Beautiful, fresh corn is in abundance this time of year. Read about this sweet, crunchy vegetable and try a few unique corn recipes this season!
Wine and Barbecue: An Essential Pairing
The backyard grill usually means beer and burgers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But what if we told you there’s an even tastier way to blend a beverage with the summer barbecue? Think wine. And don’t let the fancy Chardonnay-Cabernet-Zinfandel names frighten you. You don’t have to be a famous gourmet chef like Bobby more »
The Essentials of Buying a Wine Refrigerator
Considering buying a wine refrigerator, but don’t know where to start? Here are some great guidelines to help narrow down your choices.
Ingredient of the Month: Strawberries!
Strawberries aren’t just for dessert! Try these unique savory strawberry recipes and expand your horizons with this delightful summertime fruit.
How to Properly Store White Wine
Avoid storing white wines in the kitchen fridge, as it is too cold and can be a constant source of vibration. Here are some great tips for proper white wine storage.
Ingredient of the Month: Summer Squash
Summer squash is not boring! Read about the vegetable, and try some of my favorite recipes for zucchini and yellow crookneck squash.
Wine is the New Golf
Think of group wine tastings as the new golf outing. It requires no prior experience, is a team sport, and the price is right!
Ingredient of the Month: The Lemon
Lemon juice works to brighten & enhance the natural flavors of foods, while lemon zest adds a fresh citrus flavor to dishes. Read more!
Waiter, there is someone drinking my wine!
The role of a sommelier has changed over the decades. Some still taste test your wine before pouring it for you. Is this necessary?
Ingredient of the Month: Shrimp!
Add an element of elegance and pizzazz to your meals by cooking with shrimp! Here are some of my favorite preparations, as well as some important shrimp cooking tips.
Wine Decanting: What’s the Deal?
There are two main reasons to decant wine. One is to remove the sediment, which is more often found in wines with ten or more years of bottle age and vintage ports. The other is to soften young tannic wines through aeration.
Ingredient of the Month: Sweet Potatoes
Discover unique & fun ways to prepare the mighty sweet potato. Hearty and comforting, yet beautiful and delicate in flavor, this root is a true kitchen staple.
Fall in Love with Loire Valley Wines
The Loire Valley is in northwestern France— a cool climate growing area that produces wines known for their crisp acidity, which makes them exceptionally food-friendly. The Loire produces a diverse range of wines that includes sparkling, white, rose, red and luscious dessert wines.
Introducing Austrian wines
Vibrant, fun-loving, interesting, and great to eat with—this is a great description of the wonderful people I met in Austria last January. But it also describes their wines. Austria might not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of fine wine, but it could be. The combination of Austria’s long history more »
Wine Glasses: What You Should Know
When you have found a wine you really love and it’s time to enjoy it, have you ever stopped to wonder what to serve it in? Your wine glass can significantly affect the taste of your wine. Picking the correct type of wine glasses to invest in is one of the most important decisions a wine more »
Wine Temperatures: Why Ask Why?
Why Ask Why? At a recent wine tasting someone asked, “Why is white wine served cold and red wine served at room temperature?” This simple question inspired me to share with you the “Whys” of ideal serving temperatures. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with temperature is actually that whites are often served too cold and reds more »
Be a Better Cook: Make Your Own Stocks!
“If you want to prepare delicious food, ‘incredible’ food, you absolutely must start with the right ingredients. And, without a doubt, that includes homemade stock.” – Chef Jean-Pierre Brehier It’s true. Homemade stock is invaluable. It is used to some extent in virtually every dish that comes out of a professional kitchen. To kick your more »
Secrets to Ordering a Great Bottle of Wine- Every Time!
Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by the wine list? Intimidated by the options, whether there are 20 or 200 to choose from, only to settle on the only thing that sounds familiar to you (you know, the same ol’, same ol’). Laurie Forster, the Wine Coach, is here to the rescue. With these more »
Getting Intimate with Cheese: Tips for Tasting!
Summer is sluggish. We do love it, but none of us can ignore the heavy blanket of heat that envelops our bodies as we step outside the house. Thus, we have no other option but to embrace it! We realized it’s a perfect time to all slow down and write about tasting – truly experiencing more »
Give Your Wine Some TLC!
We all instinctively know that without proper care our bodies do not operate at their best. For this reason we need to treat ourselves to Tender Loving Care or TLC with things like getting a good night’s rest, eating healthy and hopefully get a bit of exercise. Most of us however fail to treat our more »
Take Control of the Wine List!
Imagine this—You are seated at an upscale restaurant with one of your best clients and then handed a wine list thicker than a college textbook. You want to pick out the “perfect” wine to impress your client but everything looks like it is written in a foreign language. After only a few minutes the server more »
Be a Better Cook: Learn How to Use Salt!
Before I really learned to cook, I thought salt was something that belonged on the rim of my margarita. I ignored it in sticky plastic shakers on restaurant tables, lazily omitted salt from recipes, and essentially feared it, as the health culture has trained us to do so to an unreasonable extent. Not until culinary more »
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