Enthusiastically re-engineer sticky e-commerce whereas resource sucking interfaces. Interactively develop maintainable human capital without distinctive results.

The post The 2017 Wine Lover’s Guide to a Kitchen Remodel first appeared on Rose Divine.

Enthusiastically re-engineer sticky e-commerce whereas resource sucking interfaces. Interactively develop maintainable human capital without distinctive results.

The post Spring Wine Festival at a Vintage Vineyard first appeared on Rose Divine.

Enthusiastically re-engineer sticky e-commerce whereas resource sucking interfaces. Interactively develop maintainable human capital without distinctive results.

The post We Invite You to These Wonderful Wine Tasting Events first appeared on Rose Divine.

Wine and cheese has been served around the world for hundreds of years highlighting local customs and flavors. Yes we all acknowledge there is a scale from spray cheese out of can and moon shine to works of art.  However, many of us find our niche and enjoy it.

Recently Central Market hosted a wine and cheese pairing event.  I walked through the store sampling and reawakening the fun in finding something new.  The store provided selections in vignette settings from different parts of the world.  Many of our domestic cheeses have roots in Europe and South America.  For example the Wisconsin Deer Creek Vat 17 cheddar with a background of strong English cheddar with a good bit at the finish pairs beautifully with cabernet.  At home, I enjoyed a ruby port with it.

I was delighted to see a taste of home, the Marin French Cheese Company of California, Camembert showcased which my sister was employed to pack as a kid.   It was a staple of our home and served with French bread from the Sonoma Square.  Always present at Christmas with a glass of champagne.   After my parents had returned from a trip to France and toured various champagne houses, it became a family tradition to add a touch of Apricot Brandy to a glass of champagne.  I continue that tradition today in memory of my dad.

At times, I really feel that we try too hard to bring something exciting to the table to keep up with the Jones.  Dining is not a Power Point presentation that needs to have fly-ins or acrobats to grab your attention.  I get no one wants to look at a lifeless plate. Nevertheless, we should not overlook the simple duos that flavor tells the story.  I learned that night serving a little fig preserves with brie can be the bump that your cheese plate needs.   It brings color, texture and flavor.  Central Market also prepared recipe cards that gave pair sweet and savory options to serve with the cheese.

I am happy to see cow milk based cheeses are becoming fashionable again.  St. Albans of Vermont, French styled soft cheese that can be served cold or warmed.   It was paired with a Merlot that was very enjoyable and a good beer would be great too.

At times, you just need a little something to chew on while watching a good movie.  The Oklahoma made Caciocavera by the Lovera family is a hard cheese that is wonderful with olives and salami or ham. It really reminded me of the Brooklyn pork stores with the cheese hanging in the back of the counter with the gourd shape and twine.

As a party of two for dinner on most nights and working full time, Central Market’s premade dinners are very good and perfect when you are pulling into the drive way at 7pm.   The Gorgonzola raviolis and blueberry mascarpone tart are a must for any household.   The chef-prepared hot cheese dip that included roasted tomatoes also made it into my shopping cart.

We are all living in the ‘now demand’ lifestyle while being available for work twenty-four, seven.  We find ourselves applying the new dirty word of multi-tasking in our down time. For example, my friend Carrie and I enjoyed catching up with a grand reserve chardonnay sitting in front yard passing out Halloween candy.  The last time I truly sat down to enjoy a glass of wine and a plate of cheese was when I was on vacation in Spain a few months ago.  Is it really necessary to fly 10 hours away to enjoy what life has to offer?  After making sure my chardonnay was not knocked over by super heroes and zombies, I am making myself stop after a delightful journey through Central Market.   I am stopping to smell the roses, leaving the phone on the charger, turning off the TV for a bit of music, a chilled Riesling and nosh on local cheeses.

The post The Journey to the Table first appeared on Rose Divine.

Two year long research initiative by the University of South Australia funded by the has revealed what terms Chinese consumers use when describing a wine and what Asian fruit and vegetable flavours are equivalent to the Western ones used to describe wine.

“Describing a wine as tasting of blueberry is hard to understand if you have never seen or tasted a blueberry”

The project, led by Dr Armando Corsi, Dr Justin Cohen and Prof Larry Lockshin, involved more than 250 Chinese wine consumers from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

The participants described the taste of a selection of Australian white, red, sparkling and dessert wines.

Participants selected a series of generic wine descriptors as well as choosing from a list of specific fruit and vegetable flavours. These flavours were either Western fruit and vegetables or proposed Chinese equivalents.

The research found that generic wine descriptors, such as “mellow”, “lingering” or “fruity” were three times more likely to be used than specific wine descriptors by Chinese wine consumers.

Dr Corsi says that wine has been predominantly described in China using Western terminology but such descriptors lack meaning if the consumer has little or no experience of tasting that particular fruit, vegetable or spice.

“Describing a wine as tasting of blueberry is hard to understand if you have never seen or tasted a blueberry,” Dr Corsi says.

“What this research has provided is evidence of what specific Chinese fruit and vegetable flavours are equivalent to the Western descriptors currently used on wines in China.

“We can now say that the equivalent to blackberry preserve is dried Chinese hawthorns.”

The project also investigated the likeability, willingness to pay and perceived price points of different wine styles.

The research showed that what is perceived to be more expensive is not necessarily what is liked the most.

“There is also the potential for similar research to be undertaken in other countries to determine what cultural descriptors they would use to describe the taste of different wines.”

According to a recent Wine Australia Export Report the value of Australian wine exports to China has grown 66 per cent to $370 million in 2015.

In response to these findings, Wine Australia has produced an Australian Wine Flavours Card to link an Australian wine descriptor with an equivalent taste that is more related to the Chinese palate.

The post Chinese Wine Terms first appeared on Rose Divine.

In less than an hour, you can complete a bedazzling drive passing by Napa’s most famous winery estates from Domaine Chandon, Robert Mondavi, Cakebread Cellars, Charles Krug,  St. Supery,  Sutter Home, Franciscan, Beaulieu Vineyard, Grgich Hills, Freemark Abbey, Heitz Wine Cellars, and Markham Vineyards to Opus One, Merryvale Vineyards, Beringer, Sterling and dozens more. Of course, the point is not to drive by but to stop off and explore the famous tasting rooms, tours, shops, restaurants and all that “The 29” route has to offer to visitors. It’s fun and exciting but there is much more to the Napa Valley wine story.

My favorite route through Napa is California Highway 121, aka Silverado Trail Road. It too runs North-South through Napa County. In fact, the Silverado Trail runs parallel to Highway 29 for nearly 30 miles, along the Eastern edge of Napa Valley.

This beautiful road is studded with amazing wineries, perhaps a little less well known but just as interesting and enjoyable as those on Highway 29.  The views are simply stunning. The vineyards are wide and expansive with row after row of hillside vines looking down on the valley. If you are in the mood to avoid crowded tasting room, busy parking lots and tourist buses, then the Silverado Trail is the best way to experience real Napa Valley viticulture.

Silverado Trail wineries include Rombauer Vineyards, Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Rutherford Ranch, Silverado Vineyards, ZD Wines, Conn Creek, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Signorello Vineyards, Quintessa, Paraduxx, William Hill Winery, Mumm Napa, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Clos Du Val and many other excellent wineries.

Here, on the serene side of Napa Valley you will discover new wine dimensions in the creations of very talented winemakers—many of whom are moving beyond marketplace standards, and using the rich, fertile terroir of Napa appellations to craft some of the best wines made anywhere in the world. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll bring you tasting notes and recommendations on our favorite Silverado Trail wines.

The post Silverado Trail: The Serene Side of Napa Valley first appeared on Rose Divine.