Category Archives: Wine

Drink Grower Champagnes

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Originally posted on Departures.com.

I always love any occasion to drink Champagne, but I get extra excited when I have the opportunity to drink wines by individual winemakers instead of the big name labels. This category of grower Champagne has been one of the most exciting trends to watch in wine over the past decade: These smaller producers are crafting wines that provide unique, highly varied, nuanced expressions that center on the individual parcels of land upon which their grapes are grown. Continue reading →

Great Older Vintage Wines To Buy And Drink Now

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Originally posted on Departures.com

I vividly remember the first time I sat down to taste through a vertical of older vintage wines, sipping a selection of SIMI cabernet sauvignons from 1935, 1941, 1956, 1964, 1974, and 1984 amidst the fruit flies and barrels of its Sonoma County cellar. They were vibrant and distinct, each showing the long life of well-made wine: from the figgy, fruity, still full-bodied 1934 and the wild strawberry and balsamic delicacy of the ’41; to the more modern styles of the ’74, with its big, spicy tannins and bright black fruit still present, and the concentrated, rich, and powerfully structured ’84. I was hooked on the nuanced flavors of maturing wines; on their savory notes of earth, stewed fruits, honey, spice; on the more esoteric quality they represent as well, nodding to times gone by.Larmandier Bernier Cellar Continue reading →

What To Drink Now: Kopke’s Marvelous Aged White Ports

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Read original article at Departures.com»

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As the days become shorter and we begin edging towards the marathon dinner party and feasting season that is November and December, my mind turns to after-dinner wines—bottles that are both excellent complements to the season’s many desserts and special enough to give as gifts. A personal favorite is tawny port. I love the intensity of flavors that develop after long aging in barrel and its soft, silky character resulting from exposure to oxygen over time. This style is traditionally made from red grapes, since firm tannins are necessary for the long aging process. Yet Kopke, the oldest port house in Vila Nova da Gaia, produces wines that drink like tawnies using only the traditional white grapes of the region in 10–40 year old blends. (Some of those wines are even older since these are blends of different colheitas, or years.) The wines have a profound depth and range of flavors that are perfect for fall, from nuts and spices to dark chocolate and orange rind.

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Fulfilling a Dream

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One year ago today, I got on a plane to Italy without a job and no clue what the future had in store. My life since that moment has changed in a hundred ways, both large and small. The past year has been exhilarating, challenging, painful, rewarding, immensely draining, utterly uplifting. In short, it’s been the best year of my life. I am ever grateful for the support of my wonderful friends and family for encouraging me to take a leap of faith, for putting up with me (and for putting me up), for being my anchors when I felt adrift, and for helping me along the journey to realize a dream.

Aged, Affordable Wines to Drink Now

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I love older wines, those savory notes of earth, stewed fruits, honey, spice. But space is limited in my home, and I’ve yet to get into the good collector’s habit of buying wines by the case and slowly working my way through the bottles as they evolve. Instead, I hold on for dear life to the one or two bottles I have of a wine in a vintage, never quite sure of what occasion deserves them, and I count my lucky stars when I have the opportunity to taste wines others graciously open for me, as the experience is always memorable, however large or small the occasion: a 1934 Simi Cabernet to celebrate 150 years of uninterrupted production, a 40-year-old Kopke white port alongside the Douro on a trip to Portugal, a 1986 Latour popped the first time I tasted grass-fed beef from my aunt’s farm. Continue reading →

Cinghiale. 
{pron. cheen-ghee-Al-eh}

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Cinghiale. Wild boars. Tuscany is known for them, and in the fall, it’s impossible not to see wild boar ragu across restaurant menus throughout the region. It’s a dish I love, rich with the earthy, gamey meat of the fresh pig.

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What I do not love is seeing the cinghiale in the flesh. Up close. Particularly in the middle of hunting season. Continue reading →