I was having a couple of friends over for dinner recently and wanted a flavorful, satisfying first course to precede a simple roasted chicken and veggies. I had my eye on a shiitake mushroom terrine recipe, but an unexpected afternoon work snafu didn’t leave me enough time. So I improvised what turned out to be a [...]

I don’t find so many Fume Blancs that I particularly like — usually I think that when you combine all that oak with Sauvignon Blanc’s grapefruity character, all you end up with is bitter and smoky. But this Chateau St. Jean 2007 Fume Blanc Sonoma County ($13) is not only a pleasure, it’s a real [...]

Yesterday, I wrote about including a Riesling in your Thanksgiving feast. Now I’m moving to my favorite red for Turkey Day. Pinot Noir works for me because it matches nicely with stuffing, rich potatoes dishes and the turkey legs and thighs, but is also smooth and delicate enough to avoid overwhelming some of the lighter notes of the meal — like turkey [...]

I love including a Riesling with a traditional Thanksgiving feast — and not only because the wine works beautifully with the meal. I also do it because there are always those people who think they don’t like Riesling who end up liking (and drinking) it. The pure, silky fruit of the Riesling inevitably tastes cleaner [...]

Last weekend I tasted the Leeuwin 2004 Shiraz Margaret River Siblings ($20) at an all day food and wine extravaganza (thanks Joe & Kyle!). Although the original thought was to open this wine alongside the big batch of chili, we ended up opening it earlier than the chili was ready. At that point, if memory [...]

Here’s an easy, vibrant holiday nibble — each of these cheese-stuffed peppers packs a flavor punch that matches nicely with a crisp, refreshing PInot Grigio. (These go quickly, so make extras!) Peppadews are pickled red peppers that are sweet and spicy and positively addicting. They are a delicious addition to sandwiches, and can also be stuffed [...]

If ham is somewhere on your holiday menus — whether a store bought honey baked ham or your own clove-studded version — try pairing it with an aromatic Gewurztraminer like the one I tasted over the weekend: Pietra Santa 2007 Gewurztraminer Central Coast ($15). Dried rose petal aromas accent clean, fresh apricot, tropical melon and pretty [...]