Summer parties swing sans big wine budget

By Ben Giliberti
WASHINGTON POST
Theoretically, five different wines are needed for a full menu at a graduation party, anniversary celebration or June wedding. These are a red and white wine for the cocktail hour, two reds for the dinner (a light red to go with poultry or salmon, and a heartier one for meats), plus a full-bodied dinner white to go with seafood or cream sauce entrees

A Wine-Tasting Trip That Goes The Distance

By Paul Gregutt Special to the Seattle Times
The sign posted in the winery tasting room, I have been told, reads: "No kangaroos, no koalas, no boomerangs, no newcomers. Evans & Tate since 1974."

Wine competition pits France v US

The tasting is rematch of a competition 30 years agoWine experts in London and California are preparing to hold a blind tasting to decide who makes the best wine: France or the United States.

2005 Bordeaux Arrives to an Ovation, Trailing Opportunities - New York Times

2005 Bordeaux Arrives to an Ovation, Trailing Opportunities - New York Times

IF you need a surefire diplomatic gambit to find a point of agreement among even the most contentious of foes, how about sounding them out on the 2005 vintage in Bordeaux? After weeks of tastings for the industry and the wine press in Bordeaux, where the 2005's are currently aging in barrels, the message is clear: 2005 is a knockout.

The Pour: Decanting Robert Parker: "Thirty years of influence haven't curbed his thirst for wine, or a fight."

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Swirl n' Spit: "Lowdown: No, it won't be mistaken for a funky Sonoma or Mendocino County winery, but, believe it or not, I've found a welcome island of Italian varietals within the very heart of Cab-Merlot-Chard country."

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Randy's World of Wine: Seven things you don't know about wine: "Writer Randy Caparoso suggests seven sensible ways to improve your wine experiences that are not covered in most books."

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30 Second Wine Advisor: Really, really old wine: "In current topics on our forums, we visit with a Parisian collector of very old wines, and offer a poll about the oldest wine you've tasted."

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California Wine Country Grape Glut?: "T hroughout last August and September, the bottling line at Ravenswood Winery worked well into the night, making room for the batch of grapes that the 2005 harvest would bring."

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Mega Stars, Indie Producers at Sonoma Film Fest: "By M.L. Hilton (SONOMA VALLEY, CA) -- Do you hear the word “indie” when it comes to filmmaking and shudder, afraid that you will be forced to sit through some plodding documentary or worse, something created strictly in the effort to educate you about something you have no interest in? If you answered yes to the above, it may be time you re-evaluated your regular cinema experience, put aside your preconceived ideas, and explore the fascinating and entertaining world of film festivals. I mean let’s face it. When was the last time you were able to consistently attend your multiplex’s regular fare and leave satisfied both by the entertainment experience and the money you spent? Even the stars are starting to feel that way. New independent films featuring Danny Glover, Nick Nolte, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman, Mary Steenburgen, Danny DeVito, William Hurt (and I can go on) are being shown as part of Cinema Epicura – the 9th annual Sonoma Valley Film Festival. A number of the stars themselves are attending the screenings, galas, awards ceremonies and gourmet food and wine tastings. The festival starts next week – April 5 through 9, and online sales end on Wednesday, April 5. Do you have your tickets? I do. Seventy-five films in five days. It is better than On Dem"

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Food and Drink: "DRINK FEATURES
Fishing for solutions
Break the rules. Red wine goes swimmingly with fish

Bill Daley, Chicago Tribune

Red wine with meat, white wine with fish. Just how long has that mantra been drummed into our consciousness?"

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Food and Drink
Wild for Walla Walla
Syrah in demand from emerging Washington regionBy Bill Daley, Chicago Tribune

More wine drinkers are waking up to the fact that the West Coast goes beyond California. Washington state winemakers, for example, now bask in rave reviews from critics and increased attention from consumers, particularly for their reds.

Food and Drink

Food and Drink

One terroir, many wines Winemakers are drawn to this Santa Rita Hills vineyardBy Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
On the website for Wes Hagen's vineyard and winery, you'll find the usual pictures of family members and pets. But you'll also find a bonus -- full-color photographs of dirt.

Food and Drink

Bordeaux's lighter side The region’s white wines merit a sipBy Bill Daley, Chicago Tribune
The white wines of Bordeaux could use some publicity. For decades the focus has been on the region's red wines, those glorious, high-priced clarets emblazoned with the names of some of France's most prestigious houses, Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux, Latour and Petrus.

Food and Drink: "Off-the-list wines are one of the restaurant world's best-kept little secrets. Nearly every top-flight dining room has a stash, and under certain conditions will bring a bottle out of hiding � but not for everyone."

Food and Drink

A good dessert wine feeds all the senses with its color, aroma, flavor and mouth feel. These wines are fun to sip, their oft-exotic flavors underscored by a seductive voluptuousness of texture

Swirl n' Spit: "V alentine's Day is a make-or-break occasion that either solidifies a relationship as worthwhile or, well, sends it careening into a nosedive of regret and disdain."

Wines of The Times: A Visitor Welcomed in Cold Weather: "Barley wine — the robust, complex brewed counterpart to Port, Madeira or Armagnac — is one reason to celebrate winter."