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Old school applies to pizza, fishing
She heats her cold pizza in the stove and yesterday’s coffee in a saucepan on the burner.
Old school applies to pizza, fishing
She heats her cold pizza in the stove and yesterday’s coffee in a saucepan on the burner.
Riding the last rays of sunlight
Many newbies roll in finale of Wednesday night mountain biking series at Farragut
He bleeds blue — been photographing Cats for more than 50 years
For the last half-century, even the most die-hard of Columbia Falls basketball fans would be hard-pressed to remember a game played on home court where local photographer Randy Bocksnick was not on the sidelines snapping pictures of the action.
'Tots' campaign picks up steam
SANDPOINT — After the Pennsylvania Hershey Bears sent the puck deep into the net, thousands upon thousands of teddy bears and other stuffed animals began raining from the stands.
The tough question
The most important thing to know about wine is what you like and what you don't. Everyone's palate is different and responds to different flavors and profiles of the wine. There is the tough question that comes with those preferences though. We get the question from distributors, winemakers and toughest of all from friends. The scenario goes something like this. Someone is really excited about a wine, whether it is one they distribute, make or bring to a party, we know the question is coming, "So what do you think?"
Wine questions, terminology
We frequently get questions from our readers and customers on everything about wine from terms, to the wine-making methods, to individual wines so here are some we have gotten since the last time we addressed them.
Soter Vineyards: A review
It occurred to me that while we frequently discuss coming wine events in this article we have rarely gone back to review the events to let you the wine consumer know how they went. That is of even more value when tastings and winemaker dinners involve a winery like Soter Vineyards from Oregon that are either new to the market, or not widely available.
The best food and wine pairing holiday
Thanksgiving is perhaps our favorite holiday all year, the family gatherings, the feast, the great fall weather, football all contribute to a great day with family and friends. The diversity of the meal and the length of celebration lend the extra bonus of ample food and wine pairings that enhance our day. From the night before to brunch on Thanksgiving morning, snacks before dinner and the main event itself there are wines to go with each meal and course, and with all the great reasonably priced wine on the market there is something for every taste and every budget.
Winemaking talent
Over the past five plus years we have had the honor and privilege to work with some of the most talented winemakers from many of the North American Appellations. We have done tastings and winemaker dinners with these creative geniuses from Oregon, Idaho, Washington state, and many of the growing areas of California. During that time we have had winemakers up for repeat appearances only a handful of times, and this coming week we will be welcoming back not only one of the true winemaking talents from Walla Walla but also one of the most generous and genuinely nice people in the wine business.
Navigating Italy and its many varietals
Italy is known for some of the most wonderful food, and produces all of the great wine to go with their culinary masterpieces. When it comes to pairing wine with food there is no place, in our opinion, where enjoying wine that is made where the dishes originate is more symphonic than Italy. Our domestic wines are great, but the ones from Italy do better with Italian food than any others produced in the world.
A happy Easter
Easter is a holiday that celebrates much in the Christian religions but also much about the time of year representing for many of us the start of spring.
Trying something new - just once
Last week we attended Opera Coeur d’Alene’s production of The Barber of Seville. Mary and I have long been fans of opera in general, but we especially have loved opera here in our own town. The caliber of performers and the opera performances here is truly extraordinary. We have found though over time that there are many preconceived thoughts about opera and whether or not an individual will “like” it. The hurdle though is getting someone to try opera. Like so many things in the big world of wine there are notions about many wines that if you can get consumers past an idea to the point of actually trying something new, they are surprised at how much they enjoy it!
The scariest order
Regardless of age, experience or even where we are on our wine journey there is one request that can scare any of us. Whether it be a large party at a business dinner or a more intimate gathering with family and friends, or even just a night out with our spouse you get passed the wine list and asked to pick a good one, uh oh the pressure is on. If it’s at a restaurant featuring a primarily European list the task becomes even more daunting.
Our Christmas wish list
Like so many holidays throughout the year Christmas is a great “wine holiday,” there is much diversity of food, and fun pairings to go with all of them. Our gatherings whether big or small feature close friends and family just those we want to share a great bottle of wine with. Here are some of our favorites that we will be enjoying over the Christmas holiday.
Vines and vintages, weather and rain
We have written many times about the preferences of winemakers and growers alike, which simply put are that a long slow dry and warm growing season is always better than any year involving cold and wet. We talk to our winery and farming friends regularly, and this opinion is about as close to universal as you can get. We thank all our contacts in ‘the business” for their regular updates and opinions. We need only look back over the last 20 vintages in the western US to get a clear sense of why this preference is so uniform.
The things we learn from wine
The majority of wine writing is focused on things to learn about wine. How is this vintage versus that vintage, what are the differences between varietals, growing regions and winemaking styles, and what we think and feel about individual bottles? Occasionally though we learn things from wine. At wine events like our dinners and tastings we meet new people and learn about them, and learn of new friends even traveling with them and developing long term relationships.
Wine camp
This past weekend, we held a new and what will likely become an annual event for wine consumers. In conjunction with ROW Adventures (or River Odysseys West, which is their full and formal name), we attended our first annual Wine Camp. It is hard to imagine that folks from North Idaho don't know ROW, since they have been around for more than 30 years and consistently receive high marks and awards for adventure travel around the world; they provide river and other trips for all levels of adventure travelers.
The Chardonnay article
Based on domestic sales statistics, the two most purchased and consumed varietal wines are Cabernet and Chardonnay. According to Wine Spectator, an impressive 20 percent of all wine consumed domestically is Chardonnay. No doubt that some of this consumer demand is comfort. Many of us, when out to eat, will start with a wine by the glass, and Chardonnay is the easy order to place. We know what to expect - from most domestic producers, it is straightforward and easy drinking. But that doesn't account for all of the sustained popularity of the grape.
Five things to drink right now, and what to eat with them
Spring release is upon us and spring weather is hopefully not far behind. This time of year, we get to taste many new things as our distributors bring around all of the newly released wines. We get to see the trends as they emerge and revisit new vintages of old favorites; it is one of our favorite times of year and should be for wine consumers, too. Here are some of the things we are enjoying the most.