There we sat, perched on a patio a stone’s throw from the inviting aquamarine edge of Lake Tahoe: Uncle Mike, Aunt Cindy, hard-partying “Uncle” Wayne, and a cast of other characters, including my God Son “Smilin’ Jack” Pasha. Actually, Jack was crawling, and not from drinking too much wine; he’s a happy-go-lucky 11-month-old who prefers gnawing on blueberries and chugging […]

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Is it just me or is there something twisted about the union of the screw-cap and wine bottle?For the past several years, the wine media has faithfully covered and taken part in the cork versus cap debate. The July Issue of Wine Spectator magazine includes an article titled “Screw Caps Gain Acceptance.” The story relates that a 2005 poll conducted by WS […]

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Isn’t it great when everything comes together at a restaurant? Good friends, good food, and fine wine to match. It doesn’t always happen that way, but it did last night at Jake’s Famous Crawfish, a 115-year-old restaurant in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon (www.jakesfamouscrawfish.com). Though I regularly write about restaurants for Main Ingredient magazine, I had never […]

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All right, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical when my Uncle Mike (UM) emailed me about his wine shopping forays to the local Grocery Outlet (GO) in Redmond, Oregon and subsequent recommendation that I give it a try.
The first thing to know about UM is that he is a character. Irish blood runs through […]

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Since it’s July 4th today and I’m feeling very patriotic, I thought it only fitting to blog about the author of the Declaration of Independence and 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. As it turns out, not only was President Jefferson a founding father, but the country’s unofficial elder expert in all things wine.
Though he couldn’t ever really […]

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The first time that I spoke with Nancy Ponzi, I liked her. Her energy arced up through the cell towers, then down to and out through my Blackberry speakerphone. I first caught up with the ever personable Nancy, co-founder of Ponzi Vineyards (www.ponziwines.com), during an interview for Culinary Tourism article later published in Main Ingredient magazine.
A little research and two minutes of […]

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Passing somewhere through the windy channel that runs between Cuba and Haiti, Lisa and I went below deck to take part in a wine tasting at sea. It was an elegant affair, even if we didn’t understand more than a few words from our English-challenged host/teacher (and I confess… my Italian is equally weak). It was all good though […]

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About five miles south of Corvallis, Oregon on a stretch of country road aptly named Greenberry, we happened on serendipity. No, that’s not the name of some quaint out-of-the-way hamlet, but the unexpected warm fuzzy feeling that rolled over Lisa and I upon discovering Tyee Wine Cellars. On the tail end of a day consumed by yard work and a rather forgetable visit to downtown wine cellar, Tyee was […]

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Hang around winemakers, tasting room managers, and other enthusiasts long enough, and you are bound to hear them talk sense. In this case, I refer to the five senses, particularly olfaction and gustation. While I do like to gaze at a nice inky glass of red, smell and taste are such a big part of the wine tasting ritual that […]

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I recently caught up with local celebrity Caprial Pence. An award-winning chef, Caprial is talented enough in the kitchen that none other than Julia Child invited her to cook at her 80th birthday party after tasting the bold, simple flavors of her cuisine. Pence, who co-hosts the OPB television series Caprial and John’s Kitchen: Cooking for Family and […]

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