Well, I'm here to tell him. The big deal is that only 15 years ago, a salesman walked into Handley Cellars and asked founder and winemaker Milla Handley where the winemaker was.
The big deal is that a woman like Mary Hall of Harlan Estate is actually considered a trailblazer for breaking into vineyard management 20 years ago.
If you believe the research coming out of UC Davis, genetically speaking, women are better tasters than men.
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If you reach for that trusty Tuscan every time pasta and red sauce hit the table, you're missing out on a world of great pairings, says Gary Vaynerchuk, the energetic host of the Web program Wine Library TV.
When it comes to mating wine with marinara, Vaynerchuk advocates breaking with tradition.
"This will surprise many, but I often drink WHITE wine with marinara sauce," he said via e-mail.
"No, I'm not talking California chardonnay, and I don't want a lot of oak. A white wine that is rich yet crisp works tremendously."
It works because high-acid whites can complement the acidity of the tomatoes, says Vaynerchuk, author of the forthcoming "Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight and Bring Thunder to Your World."
Among his suggestions - the Domaine Baubiac Viognier 2004 ($17), which he calls "a terrific food wine with back end acidity that would complement a lighter sauce very well."
Particularly bold marinaras, including those loaded with garlic, may need a hearty red.
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This is an interesting dish for you to try.
Wine Chicken
1.5-2kg chicken, chopped
Seasoning
1 tsp salt � tsp pepper 2 tbsp corn oil 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp minced garlic 10 shallots, peeled and kept whole 2 bay leaves 1 tbsp Italian mixed herbs 1 onion, quartered 1 can button mushrooms, halved 200g carrots, cut into wedges 5 red dates, seeded 2 slices of ham, chopped 1 leek (use white portion only), sliced 70g sweet snow peas � bottle red wine � cup fresh chicken stock
Roux
1� tbsp plain flour 1� tbsp corn oil
Lightly marinate chicken with salt and pepper.
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But he's supremely confident about the 2003 Grange to be released tomorrow with a price tag around $550 a bottle.
“It's right up there with the strong ones," Gago said today.
“We have had a number of reviews so far and the points given to it vary from 94 to 98 (out of 100) around the world from the few journalists who have seen it.
“From our perspective it's very solid, I have used the word stoic Grange – it's the real thing.
“Grange has never been the most alcoholic, or the most oaky, or highest extract, or most concentrated wine in Australia, it doesn't want to be.
“But the 03 has got all of those layers of complexity that will take it 30, 40, 50 years."
As chief winemaker at Penfolds, Gago acknowledges the pressure of making a wine officially declared a heritage icon by the National Trust of South Australia.
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It has more elegant syrah notes than a wine of this price and appellation should, along with balance and accessibility.
A must-try for lovers of Rhone reds, it's in stock at Gentile's, Hausfrau Haven, Simplified Wine, Twisted Vine, Vincenzo's and Wine Vault.
-- Jon Christensen Dispatch wine reviewer jac@iwaynet.net
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It is until about six hours in, when you'd rather have a glass of water and an antacid than another gourmet fruit and spice spread on organic macadamia flax bread.
Still, the feast that was the Global Food and Style Expo, held Sunday through Tuesday at McCormick Place, brought new and truly wonderful discoveries to Chicago restaurateurs and retailers.
Chefs, bakers, importers and artisans big and small proudly presented their goodies, showcasing both responsible practices and wild caloric abandon.
You might want to try a few of these finds:
Feeling a little under the weather? Especially this year's weather? You could try light therapy, moving to Florida, antidepressants or maybe just a Chocolate Prescription.
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How do they live the good life and afford it too, you ask?
Join us on a few First Friday Art Walks and find out.
SANTA FE DRIVE
Overhead: Jason Rogenes' 7-foot styrofoam spaceships.
Across the way: a mixed-media installation by Jennifer Jeannelle combining (among other curiosities) bottle glass, wire mesh, rock salt and human hair.
Around the corner: the provocative photographic "myselfportraits" of Sally Stockhold as Aunt Jemima and Ethel Rosenberg in the electric chair.
Some startling and stimulating sights emerge as you mingle in the throngs of bohemian design students and handsome couples in matching blazers browsing the Museo de las Americas, Vertigo Art Space, Spark and the other galleries lining Santa Fe Drive for blocks.
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1¾ pounds Manila or littleneck clams (about 28)
½ pound dry spaghetti
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt, to taste
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
While the water heats, fill a large bowl with cool water, then add the clams.
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"I had a chance to taste about 50 Texas wines at the festival (though few Austin restaurants carry more than a handful of local wines), and I came away impressed with how they have evolved over the past decade. I also wondered if too much Texan swagger is getting in the way of planting the best grapes in the best vineyards. Wineries are trying to grow dozens of varieties, from pinot grigio to riesling, in climates that can be unsuitable to them.
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Nowhere was that more apparent than in Prosser, where elaborate winery tasting rooms built over the past five years are not only attracting more visitors, but also more businesses to this quaint, picturesque town of 5,000.
"It's driven restaurant and hotel growth, and the economic growth is good -- it drives the sales tax," said Mayor Paul Warden, a former city councilman who took the reins at city hall in January. "We had three wineries for years and years. Then six. Now there's 12."
The trailer and a tractor were stolen from Langley's 3D Transport, but because it was only a partial load the thieves' haul was less than $200,000 of inexpensive wine and imported beer.
Three other trailers parked in the truck compound on Allard Crescent were loaded with liquor worth closer to $800,000, the usual value of a load, 3D president Raj Dhami said.
.Douglasville, GA (PRWEB) April 30, 2008 -- Sugar is a greyhound that was found wandering loose on Interstate 75 near Stockbridge GA back in 2004. She was picked up by The Henry County Humane Society and held for a few months while waiting for adoption. She was then taken in by a volunteer, Patti Peterson, from Southeastern Greyhound Adoption (SEGA) for fostering. After a brief placement at a family farm, she returned to Ms. Peterson after some run-ins with her adoptive family's Emu herd.
As a member of the U.S. Personal Chefs Association, she's in a position to do just that.
Cifelli and her fellow members of the South Jersey (including Mercer County) chapter, who cook in other people's homes for a living, are offering a holiday special: gift certificates for one to 10 meals so that mom doesn't have to cook.
"It could be a romantic meal for two, or as many as 10 meals," she said. Or a brunch for a whole family.
Cifelli, who calls her franchise "Dinner in a Snap," has been cooking as a personal chef for the past four years, after downsizing eliminated her job in corporate finance.
"I love it," she said of her second career, which takes her into clients' homes to prepare customized meals that are frozen for later use or eaten that day.
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Wine appears on the web in many guises, the most obvious being the recent explosion in bottles available to buy over the internet. From the virtual cellar doors of many wineries and the websites of a growing number of wine retailers, to 100 per cent online wine enterprises: wine is increasingly just a mouse click away.
One of the most intriguing developments, which frequently falls under the radar of mainstream media, is the rise of the wine blog. The US is awash with geeks keen to share their vinous finds and bicker about wine online; the UK has some serious bloggers such as the Wine Anorak, whose independent website launched him as one of the country's major wine columnists; and here in New Zealand the ranks of wine bloggers are slowly starting to swell.
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Kids and cooking
Who: kids from 6 to 17.
What: Cook for the Gold Summer Mini-Camps
When: June and July; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Where: Young Chefs Academy, 1929 W.
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A This looks pretty on a buffet table when it's made in the glass bowl. The recipe is from "Taste of Home Cookbook" (2006).
Layered Lettuce Salad
Makes 12 servings.
Salad:
1 medium head lettuce, torn
1 cup minced fresh parsley
4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed and patted dry
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 small red onion, chopped
Dressing:
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon dillweed
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Fresh dill sprigs (optional)
To prepare salad: In large salad bowl, layer in order lettuce, parsley, eggs, tomatoes, peas, bacon, cheese and onion.
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Also, is the all-purpose wine glass with a large bowl a stem glass?
-- Louise Frank, Edison
Once a bottle of wine is uncorked, it begins to oxidize. And chilling wine, or any beverage for that matter, slows oxidation. So it would follow that yes, you should refrigerate red wine after opening.
But -- there's almost always a "but" for rules about wine -- the chemistry of wine is astoundingly complex.
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"Look at this picture of us," said Dworkin, holding up a photograph of herself in costume with Dan Marino at a Halloween party in 1991.
Marino grinned thinking back to the memory.
At the same time, Dworkin said, "He looks as good today as he did back then."
After that trip down memory lane, the former Miami Dolphins quarterback, who has a home in Parkland, continued to sign bottles of his new "Marino Estates Vintage 13" merlot wine for hundreds of fans at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in Coral Springs.
The wine bottles were sold for $23; all proceeds were donated by Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza to the Dan Marino Foundation.
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The network on Monday announced that Ohio chef Michael Symon will take over as host of the "Dinner: Impossible" series, which challenges its chef to prepare meals under extreme conditions.
Symon, who won the network's The Next Iron Chef competition in 2007 and appears on its Iron Chef America series, replaces Robert Irvine, who left last month following revelations that he'd exaggerated details of his resume.
Irvine had hosted the show for four seasons. The network says Symon will begin taping 10 new episodes this week. They will begin airing this summer. Also new to the show will be a one-hour format.
"I'm really looking forward to the challenges that are going to be thrown my way and nothing gets me more pumped than someone telling me that something is "'impossible,' " Symon said in a statement.
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"It's a unique win-win situation," Wallach says. "You give and you get."
Unlike Match, Nerve and other online dating services, Feed Me members don't choose their dates. Rather Adam Pollock, a 34-year-old computer consultant and Feed Me creator, decides which couples will get the chance to prepare a meal together and have a 30-minute episode of their date posted on feedmeshow.com.
"We do food porn," says the 34-year-old computer consultant and foodie.
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You can follow Conant's approach in this recipe, if you want to accentuate the clams.
But if you'd like a little more sauce on the pasta, that's where the wine comes in. An ounce or two of pinot grigio or unoaked Italian white in the cooking process brings the rest of the flavors together, causing everything to coalesce. Plus, as you cook it, the alcohol evaporates and the wine reduces, leaving you with a richer, thicker sauce.
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