Wine Passion

I know I've mentioned to you that I have a thing for collecting cookbooks. I have an even greater collection of wine books, new and antiquated, tattered and outdated. The reason for this is because wine is my passion, it's in my soul. I study the technology of it, the intricacies and the methods that help it come together, and the history and evolution of it dating back 6000 years. I engulf myself with it like a person addicted. The books I collect are books that tell it's story. Sometimes it's the same story with a different light shed upon it. New information nonetheless for me. Information I keep in my mental database and pull out when I want to enlighten a student or client about wine. I suppose that's what passion is all about. Bringing that inner addiction to the forefront for all to experience. In a good way of course. And in my opinion if I've only enlighten one person about the virtues of wine, food, and family....I've done a great thing. Someday maybe I'll tell a wine story that can be handed down from generation to generation. In the mean time in honour of the two new wine books I purchased from an antique shop, about the Burgundy and Bordeaux wine regions, I'm opening a bottle of wine I've had for a couple of years. It's a St. Emilion which is produced on the right-bank or right side of the Bordeaux wine region. This right side produces wines that are made predominately from the Merlot grape. I expect it to be fabulous, and I will aerate and sip while I read my new books. What a great, passionate, wine filled life I have!

Wine: Tertre du Moulin 2006 St. Emilion Grand Cru (Whole Foods)

enjoy

Spring and New Adventures

It maybe premature to talk about spring, but I'm going to. After our recent snow storms here in Atlanta, I'm ready. With spring comes a sense of renewal not just for the trees and plants that have been waiting all winter, but for us. Spring makes you want to rearrange your furniture, and plant a new herb garden. Spring makes you want to quit your day job and pursue your passion. Spring makes you want to try new things and hopefully with that, new wines from new and exotic wine regions. Take India for example, I had a Chenin Blanc (white) from India the other day that was so flavorful and characteristically correct that I thought it was from the Loire Valley wine region of France. It was produced by Chateau Indage Estate Vineyards. Look for their wines on your next wine shopping excursion. Another country to try is Italy, no not Chianti, Sicilia. Sicily makes these berry intense red wines from the Calabrese grape, you may have heard of Nero d'Avola? Sicily is hot and sunny and its red wines are intense with berry fruit in a non-overly tannic, overly oaked way. Pick a Sicilian recipe and go for it. As the weeks go on I'll let you know about other wine region wines to check out. You know I mentioned Loire Valley, France earlier... here's an itinerary for the wine country adventurer in you....go for it!

Wine less Traveled

There are older wines in my collection dating back as far as 1998 that I have not opened yet. I think it's because I feel that if I open them they will be savored and gone forever. Or will they? I still remember the wine I tasted that was so memorable that I decided to pursue a Master of Wine designation. I don't remember the year, but I was at a dinner party with friends, the host was pouring wine from a carafe, it was white. I remember taking a sip and stopping mid-swallow thinking, oh my goodness! what is this? The wine was fragrant, I could smell it as I swallowed, it was refreshing and fruity and I couldn't stop drinking it. The wine, not knowing the terminology at the time, had layers, and a new dimension of fruitiness with each sip. The wine was memorable, so memorable I wanted to know why it tasted that way...I've been on that quest ever since. I started taking wine classes and with each class the breath of information about wine peaked my curiosity further, to the point where achieving the highest wine designation possible became my quest. I'm three certifications in and I'm still going. I'm not just learning about wine, I'm learning about wine and its relationship to people, culture and tradition. As I learn, I teach through wine lectures and events, spreading the word about the virtues of a life filled with family, friends, and great glass of memorable wine. By the way, the wine I had at that dinner party was a homemade wine made by the hostesses neighbor, yes a homemade wine! To this day it's one of the most memorable wines I've ever had. So, maybe I will open that St. Estephe 1998.....I'll savor it and it will last in memory forever.

The Wine World

The world of wine is vast and expansive. If we stop and think about wine and what it represents, we would get that wine and the culture associated with it is something we all can learn from and incorporate in our everyday lives. Italy and France are two examples of what a wine culture is all about; passionate vine growers and wine makers producing wines that go with the foods of their region. Rome, Tuscany, Sardinia....I could go on...all have foods and wines that are special to their region. They have tapped into what makes them special and what they are good at and share that with us through their wines. They have known for centuries that wine is good and healthy to drink, that wine with food and friends encourages tantalizing and thought provoking conversations, that wine is not just a drink, and that wine is an ever growing adventure to be taken daily. Drinking wines from different regions gives you an insight into those regions, not to mention a short vacation. Try this...pick a wine from Sicily, like a Nero d'Avola (Sicily by the way boasts a great Mediterranean diet). Invite a few friends over and make this recipe Rigatoni with Sausage Sauce. Ponder the meal and the wine with your friends, and guess what, you and your friends are in Sicily, taking in the culture. You know wine is a great way to travel, and you can take your family and friends along for little money, and yes, I have tasted every one of the wines associated with these wine corks....you could say I have traveled the world over! Learning something new everyday....

Paula and me

I know I mentioned that Nigella Lawson is the person responsible for introducing me to cooking and my obsession with cookbooks, but it's Paula Deen that keeps me eating and loving every bite of what I eat. Not totally because of her wonderful recipes, but because of her wonderful spirit that comes across whenever you see her..... and her laugh is infectious. Her story is on of strength and perseverance and proves that if you think it and feel it, you can live it. Now her recipes cause me to do extra laps on the treadmill, but it's worth it. Southern food is definitely comfort food, and southern food is about family much the way wine and food is about family in Europe. I saw her make the Creole Shrimp and Lobster Bisque on her show. It looked so good while she was making it, I had to have it. As to not feel so guilty about what I was going to be eating, you know the fat content and all, I gave the recipe to my husband so he could make it. I'm smart that way! While he cooked it the seafood smells radiated throughout the house. This dish needed a special wine. I chose Whispering Angel Rose from Provence, France. It has a beautiful floral fragrance and it tastes of creamy strawberries. Creamy elegant bisque, creamy elegant wine. Both where perfect together. While I was sipping and eating I thought, thanks to Paula I have married two traditions southern and European....and what great combo it is!

Wine: Chateau d' Esclans Whispering Angel Cotes De Provence Rose from Provence, France paired with Paula Deen's Shrimp and Lobster Bisque