Pasta, cheeses, ham, olive oil, bread, fresh produce….faithful customers of Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, founded in 1902 in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, have long enjoyed a wide selection of these staples. With the current Coronavirus situation imposing mandatory social distancing, the “Penn Mac” team has adapted to soldier on in serving customers both locally and nationwide.
With northern Italians now living in virtually complete lock down, show your support by appreciating and enjoying delicious wines and recipes from the region. Most Northern Italian recipes use ingredients readily available here. And the region’s wines offer plenty of high quality, tasty bottles at reasonable prices.
In France’s southern Rhône Valley, Mont Ventoux offers plenty of drama both for cyclists and winegrowers. On 13 occasions since 1951, the tortuous switchbacks of “The Giant of Provence,” as the mountain is called in France, figured prominently in the famous Tour de France bicycle race. But while the Tour de France visits only occasionally, the rest of the time Mont Ventoux dramatically influences more than 15,000 acres of vineyards in the foothills and plains surrounding its base.
With Spring in full bloom in the north, it’s time to embrace the moment as a perfect opportunity to expand your white wine horizons. Use the tried and true “ABC” approach — “Anything But Chardonnay.”
While there is a chardonnay white to fit every taste, it can be fun to explore white wine alternatives. Discovering new grape varieties delivers diverse aromas, zesty flavors and subtle textures to perk up jaded tastebuds.
Take just a sip or two of Clemens Lageder’s most recent delicious whites from Alois Lageder Winery, and there’s no mistaking the young winegrower’s commitment to offering distinctive, naturally fresh wines with dazzling purity. Yet as global temperatures rise each year, Lageder takes nothing for granted. Mounting challenges hinder the winery’s quest for freshness, and Clemens recognizes the need for continual experimentation and change going forward both in the vineyards and the cellar.
Imagine visiting your favorite wine merchant for a modest bottle of French or Italian wine only to see virtually empty shelves and a smattering of prohibitively expensive wines. It might seem farfetched but that is exactly what will likely happen if the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) implements proposed 100% import tariffs on European wines and other agricultural products.
When choosing a “white Burgundy” to drink with friends, Bourgogne-Aligoté may not come readily to mind. Not surprising. Since Chardonnay’s rise in popularity, most American importers and retailers give scant attention to Aligoté as Burgundy’s “other” white wine grape. But Bourgogne-Aligoté’s fortunes are changing.
When choosing a “white Burgundy” to drink with friends, Bourgogne-Aligoté may not come readily to mind. Not surprising. Since Chardonnay’s rise in popularity, most American importers and retailers give scant attention to Aligoté as Burgundy’s “other” white wine grape. But Bourgogne-Aligoté’s fortunes are changing.
Thank you to Eric McKenna for inviting me as his guest on the “Eric McKenna Project Video Podcast.” We had fun sharing a few glasses of wine while talking about some of the characters and mentors that I’ve had the privilege of meeting through my adventures with wine. Please tune in at “Eric McKenna Project Video Podcast” and cheers!
It’s fashionable to stereotype Burgundy wines as overly complicated and too expensive. Becky Wasserman-Hone simply doesn’t buy it. She has heard it all before over her forty year career as an expatriate-American working as an export-wine broker in Burgundy, but she refuses to let it derail her dedicated promotion of the wines and growers of her adopted home.
When you love drinking red burgundies, giving up is just not option. Abiding passion must be served. Yet over the last decade as prices on even village wines have escalated to $60 or more per bottle, popular producers’ wines have sadly slipped out of reach in recent vintages. When you’re feeling the disappointment, just remember you’re not alone, and do no despair.