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 …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO
The last year has seen some extraordinary additions to the wine “list” available to wine consumers and those of us in the business as well. In the 9 years, the dinner party has been opened I can’t recall a year when we have gained access to more “Hard to Find” …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
There is our oft noted whole big world of wine out there. While we all have our favorites those go to bottles that we like on a regular basis our fun has many times come when we challenge our own palates, this is when we find new favorites and also …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
From our winemaker dinners to our tasting notes that go with our wine club we tend to focus on wine and food pairing. How each can make the other and together better. We recently received a question from one of our regular readers though, “What if food is not a …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
We almost always have Thanksgiving at our home. It is one of those meals I love to cook and an occasion when Mary always creates a beautiful “tablescape.” The coziness of the cool fall day, the celebration of a purely American holiday, and a meal steeped in tradition but with …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
The growing conditions in any given year can vary wildly by region and versus previous or subsequent years. We understand too though the argument of buying producer over vintage. There are some wineries and winemakers who figure out a way to make good wine no matter how challenging the conditions. …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO
Long before we ever had the glimmer of an idea of opening the dinner party Mary and I entertained. A lot. The inspiration for the shop was commentary from our guests that “you guys throw the best dinner parties.” It was a great compliment, and we very much enjoyed doing …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO
Which is better big or small? The answer when it comes to production sizes of wineries like most things in life is complicated. The most accurate response is it depends. And the most important determining factor in the answer is your own palate. All of you have read it enough …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO
Here are our fall finds that are priced a bit more gently, and are more economical for the large gatherings of family and friends we have during the fall and winter holidays. The wines we wrote about last week are all fabulous but whether you are serving a crowd or …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO
Fall is a great time of year for wine consumers and wine retailers. The combination of fall releases and our distributor partners working hard on their portfolios results in us finding many new things to put on our shelves. And if it is on our shelves it is available for …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO
We just returned from a weekend in Montana. We used Whitefish as our “base camp” for a great hike in Glacier National Park. This is one of our favorite annual fall “getaways.” The summer crowds have lessened and while you miss out on some of the park services which close …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO
One of the many services that the omnipresent Google offer is something called Google Alerts. Anytime your company is mentioned in the news you can sign up, for a fee I’m certain, to receive an alert that it was mentioned and in what publication. I have been aware of the …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO
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 …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO
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 …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO
And away we go! The start of the 2016 wine grape harvest is here. All in all it has been a pretty good growing year across the appellations of the Western U.S. Grape growers and winemakers alike that we have talked to over the past couple of weeks are all …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO
