With some cheeses, making a wine pairing is an exercise in easy: Parmesan and Chianti, manchego and rioja, and chevre with something light and sparkling, such as a Portuguese vinho verde.
Trickier are cheeses with more abrasively delicious flavors, such as the blues -- notably Gorgonzola, Stilton and Roquefort.
Karen Page, co-author of "What to Drink With What You Eat," says the answer is to reach for something sweet to complement the blues' saltiness.
Owner of Mandurang Valley Winery, Wes Vine, expects to produce about 2500 cases of wine this year, after frosts destroyed his 2007 crop.
He said last week’s heatwave had spoilt an otherwise perfect growing season.
‘‘This season had excellent potential, but I think the hot weather of the last week has pushed the fruit along too quickly,’’ he said.
‘‘When you get heat like this you can’t get water into grape vines quick enough because the transpiration rate through the leaf is faster than the plants intake through the root.’’ Mr Vine said the heat caused the grapes to shrink and shrivel.
Stonefield Cellars, is preparing to release three commemorative wines for Greensboro's bicentennial.
Winemaker Robert Wurz, along with the Greensboro Bicentennial Commission, chose the varietals all grown in North Carolina and produced in nearby Stokesdale. The release features a Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Sweet White. All three wines will be released the weekend of March 28th, to coincide with Stonefield's second anniversary celebration.
I've been to a lot of wine festivals through the years, but none more unique and lovely than the one I attended two weekends ago at Mount Vernon. You, know the home of our first president, George Washington.
Even though I grew up near the metropolitan Washington area, I'm ashamed to say that I had never visited this lovely spot on the Potomac. An evening on the lawn with Virginia vintners seemed the perfect time to go.
Even though a slowing economy is expected to temper the growth of U.S. spirits sales this year, industry watchers doubt consumers will lose their newfound taste for high-end products.
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The Distilled Spirits Council expects spirits sales to rise 4.6 percent this year, that's slower than last year's growth of 5.6 percent and a moderation of the robust growth the industry has seen since 2001.
"We are not seeing people eating out as much, and if people are going to be staying home........
