by Kim Flick

One of my guilty pleasures of traveling is to leave all previous comfort zones and try local - or at least different - flavors (food and drink!).  Recently, my family and I packed up and headed east.  We stayed with some relatives near the Chesapeake Bay.  Having spent some years there in my past, I decided to go to the largest beverage ‘warehouse’ in the area to find something to pair with the intended meal of the evening - a bushel of Maryland crabs.  I chose somewhat of an unconventional seafood pairing - a jammy Zinfandel by Toad Hollow.  I was very pleasantly surprised!  Not only was the wine itself robust and full bodied, it stood up wonderfully to the spicy Old Bay Seasoning in which the crabs were covered.  My hubby went with the more obvious choice of beer with crabs (where you dump them on newspaper in the middle of the table) and chose a mocha porter by Rogue (I think he still had chocolate on the brain from our trip to Hershey, PA the previous day) which also seemed to pair well.  Maybe it was the fact that we were on vacation, so everything was tasting especially good?  No, I’ve also had the unfortunate experience of being disappointed by my selections.  BUT, you never know what sort of gem you will discover (then cross your fingers that you can find it once you get home!) to make it worth the chance!

by Michele Slott

Wineries aren’t the only place where you can sample wines. Talk to your local liquor store or one of your favorite restaurants — they may indeed have a regular wine tasting, or a special wine dinner from time to time. Apparently both Canyon Lake Liquor (Canyon Lake Drive) and Smith’s Liquor Gallery (Jackson Blvd) have wine tastings every Friday for a couple of hours. I believe Smith’s samples out cheese, too. Every week, they are opening something different for people to try. Anyone else know of something similar? Post a comment and let area wine lovers, new and old, know what’s going, where and when!

by Michele Slott

One of my favorite things about drinking wine is how the right combination of food and wine create a whole new taste experience. Although a kids movie (and a personal favorite), “Ratatouille” speaks quite a bit about creating new flavor combinations, and the power that can have in your mouth… as well as the power of taste to suddenly transport you back to another time and place. One of my most memorable wine tasting experiences was the first time I happened to enjoy a nice dry red wine with an aged cheddar, drizzled with thyme-infused honey… The wine suddenly tasted of rich vanilla to me — something I’d not picked up in the glass before. It was a dramatic surprise, and very tasty.

Are there any food and wine combinations that you remember coming together to create a new, third flavor?

by Michele Slott

For many of us, beer is the beverage of choice for the Independence Day picnic. My husband and I are especially fond of Samuel Adams Summer Ale on hot days… But for those of you who are choosing to drink wine over the holiday weekend, take some notes as you enjoy, then take a moment and share with us: What did you pick up at the store or is it something you’ve saved from a trip to a winery? How did you like it overall? What did you drink it with? How did it pair with the fried chicken vs the potato salad or coleslaw?

Also, are there any wine tasting events this weekend that people should know about? We hear that several area restaurants and liquor stores have wine dinners or tastings from time to time, or even weekly. Please post them here with a comment!

by Kim Flick

Back in my early wine drinking days, I reserved wine for fall. Something about fall made me want to drink wine (at the time White Zin or Riesling) so as soon as that first leaf hit the ground, the wine glass hit my hand. Winter was, without a doubt, wine time. Who can survive the holidays anymore without a bottle of Cabernet ready for consumption at a moment’s notice? Around my late-twenties I decided that it was acceptable to drink wine in the spring … a crisp Chardonnay, perhaps? Until a few years ago, summer was reserved for beer only. Recently (occupational hazzard?) I have been exposed to the wonderful world of wine cocktails. A margarita made from Rhubarb wine (pass on the tequila …), a delightful fruity Concord wine spritzer, a vanilla ice cream concoction with port wine (gasp!)? These are the things that frequent my fridge in the summer. (Not to mention the acclaim I get at parties!) Not to say I don’t still enjoy the occasional beer after mowing the lawn - but something about wine cocktails really hits the spot. Or, if a blender is not at hand, a light mead wine can be quite satisfying.

There is something to be said about sitting on the deck right around sunset - the smell of the spruce and the croaking of the frogs … all enhanced and forever remembered with the wine cocktail. Gone are the days of the Cabernet only - a new door has opened - and I love the view.