Wine Archives - Page 6 of 14 - Hungry Travelers

Wine

Drink Progressively at Harvest in Cambridge

Posted on February 5, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

One of the pioneers of New American Cuisine, Harvest restaurant (44 Brattle St, Cambridge, Mass., 617-868-2255, harvestcambridge.com) continues its innovative ways with contemporary New England fare from chef Tyler Kinnett. “The Book and the Cook” dinner series highlights recipes from a new cookbook—usually with the author appearing to explain the food and the approach as well as to guide the Harvest staff in the kitchen. The series kicked off 2018 with Urban Grape's Drink Progressively, by Hadley and TJ Douglas with recipes by Gabriel Frasca, the accomplished executive chef of Straight Wharf (straightwharfrestaurant.com) on Nantucket. As you can see from the photo at top, all three showed up for a great dinner and book signing. This was an unusual event in the series, since the...Read More

Trimbach Pinot Blanc sparkles with Alsatian flatbread

Posted on January 30, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

Wine preferences are a funny thing. Most wine drinkers name the grapes of Bordeaux and Burgundy as their favorites—irrespective of where they are grown. Few name Alsatian wines, yet we think they are the very model of magnificent cold-climate viticulture and winemaking. When we first met, we drank a slew of Rieslings, Gewürtztraminers, and Pinot Gris from many of the great names in Alsace. You could say we got to know each other over glasses of spicy, sophisticated, dry whites. So we were pleased to see a Trimbach Pinot Blanc in the mixed case from Esprit du Vin (edvwines.com). It was like running into an old friend. The Wine: Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2015 Pinot Blanc isn't usually the first grape that comes to mind in...Read More

Ogier Reine Jeanne spices up fennel and sausage

Posted on January 27, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

As one of our California-born, Europe-based readers pointed out in response to our last pizza post, Americans often drink soda or beer with pizza. Europeans almost always drink wine. We're happy to choose the evening wine and then decide what to eat with it. Having a 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape on hand suggested a bold pizza. And since fennel is one of the dominant flavors of southern Rhône valley cuisine, we naturally gravitated to roasted fennel and a limited amount of Italian sausage with fennel seeds. The Wine: Ogier Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2015 As the photo above shows, the wine was the 2015 Antoine Ogier Cuvée Reine Jeanne, one of eight different versions of Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Ogier. It's named for Jeanne of Naples, the Countess of Provence who sold...Read More

La Forge Merlot cozies up to ratatouille pizza

Posted on January 9, 2018February 23, 2018 by Pat and David

We always thought drinking good wines with pizza was our dirty little secret. But then we found that great pizza is a given in California's Sonoma wine country. We were especially taken by the pizza-wine pairings at Comstock Wines. Unlike us, the Sonoma folks couldn't enjoy pizza and wine while the New England Patriots. As football season begins to wind down, we're exploring a wider world of wine with pizza. As we learned from pizza guru Rosario Del Nero of Bertucci's, pizza can support an infinite variety of toppings. Just show restraint. “When it comes to toppings, less is more,” Del Nero cautioned. “You don’t want to overwhelm your pizza.” A mixed half case from wine distributor Esprit du Vin (edvwines.com) arrived at the end...Read More

Moshin calculates exceptional biodynamic Pinot Noir

Posted on January 3, 2018February 23, 2018 by Pat and David

You could say that Rick Moshin (above) is a calculating fellow. Before the proprietor and winemaker at Moshin Vineyards (10295 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 707-433-5499, moshinvineyards.com) got into the business, he was a math instructor at San Jose State. The skills have served him well. He keeps the big picture of winemaking in his head like a blackboard full of calculations while still managing to pay attention to every detail. His wines are like elegant solutions to complex problems. They have a kind of Pythagorean grace. “Biodynamic is the wave of the future,” he said when we visited him in November. He's not doctrinaire about it. The most important principles, he believes, are those that treat the soil like a living organism that constantly recycles whatever...Read More

Healdsburg’s Journeyman gets to the meat of the matter

Posted on December 30, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

No one would ever accuse Peter and Cathy Seghesio (above) of mailing it in, even if their new salumeria, butcher counter, and wine-tasting shop opened in Healdsburg's former post office back in August. Journeyman Meat Company (404 Center St., Healdsburg, 707-395-MEAT, journeymanmeatco.com) has swiftly become the source for charcuterie in Sonoma County, and that's hard work. Peter Seghesio (right) spent much of his adult life overseeing the Seghesio Family Vineyards wine operation, bringing its old-vine Zinfandel to national prominence. When the winery was absorbed by Crimson Wine Group, he threw himself into learning traditional Italian butchery and charcuterie. “You see a salumeria on every block in Italy,” he says. “It was something we felt our area lacked.” Peter and Cathy also launched Journeyman wine company....Read More

Jordan captures the luscious bounty of Sonoma

Posted on December 28, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

You can be forgiven if you rub your eyes at first sight of Jordan Vineyard & Winery (1474 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg, 707-431-5250, jordanwinery.com). It looks like a mirage. Tom and Sally Jordan established the 1,200-acre Alexander Valley estate in 1972 as an homage to Bordeaux. True to their vision, the ivy-covered manse overlooking gardens and vineyards appears to have been transported whole from the gently rolling hills of Entre-Deux-Mers. Now their son John Jordan (above) continues the tradition of crafting Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Russian River Valley Chardonnay in the Old World style. Producing two superb wines—one modeled on Bordeaux's Saint-Julien, the other on Burgundy's Montrachet—gives Jordan Winery a clarity of focus. But following the model of Napa, Jordan is a destination winery....Read More

Thomas George evokes Burgundy in Russian River

Posted on December 22, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

Westside Road in Healdsburg is the cool end of the Russian River Valley. That's just fine by Thomas and George Baker, founders of Thomas George Estates Winery (8075 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 707-431-8031, thomasgeorgeestates.com). When geography gives you cool vineyards in this part of Sonoma, you focus on the stars of Burgundy: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Since launching the winery in 2008, the Bakers have assembled four select vineyards to grow both varietals. These small-lot artisanal wines tend to spotlight individual vineyards, although the winery does make one blend from each grape. The winery tunnels into the hillside beneath the Baker Ridge Vineyard. Although the operation does have some stainless steel tanks and oak barrels, the dominant vessels are concrete eggs. The vessels have been gaining...Read More

California cuisine comes full circle at Dry Creek Kitchen

Posted on December 20, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

What began in northern California when Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971 has evolved into the easy sophistication of Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen (317 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-431-0330, drycreekkitchen.com). Chez Panisse launched so-called California cuisine, the forerunner of the farm-to-table dining revolution. A generation younger than Waters, New York-born and trained Palmer became the leading apostle of progressive American cooking by the late 1980s. In 2003, he opened Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg to celebrate Sonoma's bounty and wine country lifestyle. It's a pretty place. Located in the Hotel Healdsburg (another Palmer Group property), Dry Creek Kitchen has garden terrace dining when the weather cooperates and a striking dining room when it doesn't. Some of the tables sit by the semi-open kitchen, where...Read More

Trattore: a little bit of Rhône, a whole lot of rock and roll

Posted on December 18, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

Walking into the tasting room at Trattore, it's easy to expect that the sound system might be blasting Kenny Chesney's 1999 country hit “She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy.” A beautifully restored 1967 Huber tractor greets visitors as they come in the door. Tim and Mary Louise Huber have about a dozen tractors, half of which work the land. And their Trattore Farms (7878 Dry Creek Road, Geyserville, 707-431-7200, trattorefarms.com) is simply named after the iconic farm vehicle. The Hubers' 40-acre operation sits on the steep hillsides of the Dry Creek Valley just over the line from Healdsburg in Geyserville. Those hills look a lot like the Côtes du Rhône, and Rhône varietals dominate in Trattore's vineyards. The other prominent grape in the 4,000-case annual production...Read More