The Wine Cellar Blog» food and wine pairings

Mom Will Feel Like a Princess with Kate Middleton’s Sauvignon Blanc

admin — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:03:12 +0000

Mom may be a commoner, but she can at least drink like a princess for Mother's Day without it costing Dad and family a king's ransom. The night before her wedding to Prince William, Kate Middleton (now the Duchess of Cambridge) dined with close friends and family at the Goring Hotel in London’s Belgravia district. According to US Weekly, she chose the rather unpretentious Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (costs about $50) to pair with her salmon blini starter, and entrée of steak Chateaubriand. This Chilean wine and the Lapostolle brand is 100% owned by the Marnier-Lapostolle family. The name Marnier may be familiar to lovers of liqueurs because the Marnier-Lapostolle family are also owners of the world-renowned orange liqueur Grand Marnier. While they are best known for this, the family has also been involved in winemaking for generations. Originally winegrowers in the Loire Valley, France, the Marnier-Lapostolle family continue this vintner tradition by creating world-class wines using French expertise and the superb terroir of Chile. This Mother's Day show Mom she is a "Princess of Personality" and the "Queen of your Heart" with a bottle of Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc and a salmon dinner, followed perhaps by a dessert of Crêpe Suzette (made with Grand Marnier) which was originally made (as one of the stories goes) for the Prince of Wales and future King Edward VII of England.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

Are You A Wine Dummy? There’s An App For That!

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:22:54 +0000

There's a book too, but apps for your iPhone are cooler, assuming you have an iPhone. Apps like Wine 101 by FuzzyBeta claim to educate the uninitiated and remove the stress of wine selection. At the cost of $3, (of course not including the cost of the iPhone and service) Wine 101 provides a list of names for red wine when you launch it. Tapping on a varietal opens a window detailing where the grape comes from, how the wine smells and tastes, and foods it might pair with.

A similar service is provided by Hello Vino, a free app, available through iTunes, which selects the perfect type of wine to go with a meal or occasion, or to give as a gift. Wine shoppers need only install the app, and answer a few simple questions to get a specific wine recommendation.

These days, I hope the only stress you have is which wine to serve with dinner. But if you're concerned about ordering wine in a fancy restaurant, I have one word for you, Sommelier. Providing this information is their job. Ditto for a manager in a wine shop. Tapping on your iPhone for a wine recommendation while on a date is not very suave.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

See Spot Run

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:47:56 +0000

Just when we were getting used to "critter labels," now there are "foodie labels" designed to take the mystery out of food and wine pairings. The wine labels have illustrations that make clear to the consumer which wine pairs best with certain types of meat. A rooster on the Chardonnay, a pig on the Merlot and a cow on the Cabernet Sauvignon (each label has a diagram of the different cuts of meat). "Foodies" will be launched nationally by Cost Plus Food Market in early March 2008 and will retail for $7.99 per bottle. Cost Plus believes this product is appropriate for food and wine enthusiasts of all levels, but the rather basic information (some might say patronizing) says something else. Hopefully, we won't see Spot on the label, but you get the message.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog