Due to high interest in French wine (and my recent travels in France!), along with the permanent recognition that France produces some of the best and most diverse cheeses in the world, we decided to produce an all France themed wine and cheese cruise. We were honored to have such an enthusiastic audience and highly … Continue reading French wines and cheeses on the river…
After several wine and cheese cruises along Pittsburgh’s three rivers (for those unfamiliar, the rivers are: Allegheny, Monongahela and the Ohio), there is no waning of interest. To stoke the enthusiasm even more, our cheese expert David Bennett (I refer to him as a ‘cheese-ist’) invited his colleague “Dearheart” the top cheese-monger from one of … Continue reading International Wines and Cheeses
A full river boat on a hot evening turned into a cool event. Local Argentine Caterer “La Mendocina Catering” (http://www.lamendocina.com/) provided flavorful food including grilled vegetables, antipasto and owner Monica Aveni-Ranii’s signature (awesome in my opinion) Argentine Empanadas. The attendees were all passionate about wine and gave great feedback, splitting their favorites evenly between the … Continue reading South American wine and Argentine Food River Cruise
This was good fun with a dynamic crew of nice folk! A private dinner through “Off the Grid” (http://www.off-the-grid.ws/) – a small group of food and wine lovers who, every month or so, get together with a broad-minded chef who is willing to close a restaurant to the public and create a fun evening with … Continue reading Off the Grid Dinner with South American food and wines!
Wow – what fun flavor combinations we had for this Italian-themed cruise – as always, my cheese-expert pal David Bennett chose cheese from the same country as the wines – we tried to obtain traditional, ‘old-world’ style wines to express traditional Italian flavors – no Super-Tuscans in this tasting! Feel free to post questions and … Continue reading Wines and Cheeses from Italy river cruise – Delicioso!
In a world where we are told, by the best marketing campaigns, to want more and more of everything, this cultural marketing push has even captured segments of the wine producing world. The result of this “big is more” approach is that many wines appearing in our markets contain so much fruit, so much oak and … Continue reading Vive la difference!! Seek wines of all types
Spanish Wine and Cheese combinations I was fortunate to be invited again to participate in a river cruise built specifically around the pairing of wines and cheeses, this time Spanish wines and cheeses. The event was promoted by Grapenuts (www.grapenuts.org), a group in which I have been involved for many years with John Mahood, and David Bennett, … Continue reading Spanish Wine and Cheese, great combinations!
Fish Dinner with White Wines A recent dinner put on by “Off the Grid” (www.off-the-grid.ws) combined the fish-based culinary talents of owners Henry and Angela of Penn Avenue Fish Company (www.pennavefishcompany.com ). The idea of a five course fish-only dinner paired with five white wines was interesting, since variety is the spice of life, and … Continue reading Fish Dinner with White Wines
Jack Brice Wine 