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Discover New Orleans: A Culinary and Cultural Paradise

This year my good friend Annie Carmichael went to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. As she sent me photos, I had two immediate thoughts. First, why wasn’t I there? And second what was I going to give up for Lent (don’t worry it wasn’t wine). She kept sharing all of the fun she was having. Her photos made me realize how much I missed New Orleans. I decided I would write about the city for my next blog post. Andrei Codrescu, the poet, was asked, “How did you fall in love with New Orleans?” He famously responded, “At once, madly. Sometimes I think it was predestined.” I am inclined to agree with his statement. I fell in love with the city the first time I visited. That was over a decade ago.

Mardi Gras, in French, translates to Fat Tuesday. This indulgent feast day stems from medieval traditions in preparation for Lent. In the 17th century, the French families brought this practice to the French colonies of Louisiana. Notably, the House of Bourbon played a key role in this cultural transfer. The carnival takes place every year. It ends on Fat Tuesday, which is the gluttonous feast day before Ash Wednesday. If you can’t make it to New Orleans during the month-long Mardi Gras festival, do not worry. The charming city evokes a carnival-like atmosphere all year long. The vibrant energy of the people and the street musicians on every corner is contagious. New Orleans is a cultural experience rooted in French-Creole cuisines dating back centuries, unique to America. The city has exploded with culinary surprises around every corner, and there is something for everyone. My daughter tried her first oyster on Royal Street and since then has developed a love for crayfish. I have had some of the best food in New Orleans and I decided to share some spots with you.

Picking a hotel in a city with many great options can be overwhelming. I like to stay at The Chloe, located in the Uptown neighborhood bordering the Garden District. The Chloe was built in 1891 as a private home by a wealthy New Orleans family. The charming historic mansion was converted into a fourteen-room boutique hotel in 2020. The welcoming front porch invites you inside as you are greeted with a signature cocktail upon check-in. The narrow backyard features an intimate lounge pool. There is also a bar where you can sit and relax after your journey. But if relaxing is not on your agenda, do not worry. You will find another lively bar in the nook of what was once the family dining room. The restaurant at the hotel is a must-stop. I highly recommend the burger. It was voted the number one burger in New Orleans. When you are ready to venture out, the hotel is perfectly located on St. Charles Avenue. I recommend you hop on the trolley. Stop a few blocks down at The Columns. The Columns is another historic private home that was built in 1883 and converted into a hotel in 1953. The Michelin award-winning hotel is owned by a local family and is known for its charming Southern hospitality. This popular place is an ideal stop to grab a cocktail and people watch. You can take in the scene surrounded by the beautiful Magnolia trees. Further down the avenue is Hotel Pontchartrain. It is one of my favorite places to take in the city views. Plan accordingly for the sunset or evening lights at the rooftop cocktail bar. It is truly a spectacular way to take in the city.

After a busy night I like to walk in Audubon Park. It is a beautiful city park with trails, ponds, and a golf course across from Tulane University. The park is full of massive Southern Oak trees cloaked in Spanish moss and they never fail to impress me. as they sway in the wind, oblivious to the people walking by. There are two main entrances to the park, St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street. Magazine Street runs parallel to St. Charles and continues to be one of my favorite streets to walk. There are endless boutiques, art galleries and restaurants up and down Magazine. The Vintage has great coffee and beignet’s, Ruby Slipper and Birdy’s Behind The Bower are my go to brunch spots. Drop into Becky Fos’s gallery for some local art and then Paradise Lounge, located inside Hotel St. Vincent for a espresso martini. There are endless dinner options on Magazine Street. I will dedicate an entire blog on the restaurants another time. In the meantime, put Gris Gris and Coquette on your list.

A favorite area of mine is Marigny and Bywater; two adjacent historic neighborhoods east of the French Quarter. The bohemian culture reminds me of the 18th arrondissement in Paris. Frenchmen Street is full of lively jazz bars and pop up art shows. These are they type of places where you expect Lana Del Rey to walk by and you wouldn’t think twice. Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits is in the Bywater area on Poland Avenue. Don’t let the outside fool you, this is one of the best spots for great wine and live music. I have visited this place every time I have been in New Orleans and it never disappoints. As soon as you walk into the fine wine store, you pick out your bottle(s). Then, you pick out items for a charcuterie board. From there, you step outside and find a seat to watch the live music and wait for your food. The place makes you feel like you are at a friend’s back yard house party watching your other friend’s band.

I have a few favorites in the French Quarter. Cafe Beignet is my first stop before I leisurely stroll in and out of the stores. Royal Street is full of art galleries and antique stores. Vintage 329 is a must stop for me. The store has one of the largest collection of vintage jewelry. It also boasts a wide selection of cocktail glassware. I have learned my lesson over the years. I go early before any Champagne. I collect vintage costume jewelry and cocktail glasses. This is a dangerous store for me. The Carousal Bar in Hotel Montelene is a must stop, especially if this is your first time in New Orleans. One of my favorite restaurants is Sylvain. It is named after the first New Orleans Opera. It is on Chartres Street, one block from Jackson Square. The quaint restaurant is located inside an 18th-century carriage house. You can still see the exposed brick and lush greenery. The menu is full of classic recipes. I recommend you start off with one of the Champagne & Fries specials and go from there. Another great spot is Jewel of the South, on St. Louis Street. If you can try and get a table outside on the beautiful patio enclosed in magnolia trees.

New Orleans is a unique city full of life and a city I highly recommend you visit. Until next time!

Hotels

https://thechloenola.com

https://thecolumns.com

https://ash.world/hotels/peter-and-paul

Hotel Saint Vincent: New Orleans Luxury Hotel
Home

Restaurants

https://www.sylvainnola.com

https://www.jewelnola.com

http://www.bacchanalwine.com

My own version of Dry January!

Happy Wine Wednesday, my dear readers! As you know, it is my favorite day of the week! Feel free to pour yourself a glass of rich red wine, preferably from Arizona, as you read this post. I just opened up a bottle of Caduceus Cellars Marzo, a blend of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Cabernet; think Super Tuscan. This wine may sound like a pivot from what I normally drink, as you know I unapologetically enjoy Old World wines, but trust me, this wine has the gritty terroir and punchy personality of some of its best Italian cousins, with the refined backbone of a rich gentleman’s Cabernet.

I spent my own version of Dry January in the desert. As I celebrated the new year sitting outside on a patio overlooking Camelback Mountain, I counted all of my blessings for the past year and made my goals for the new year. I honored the Spanish tradition of eating twelve grapes, one wish for each month of the year. One of my goals is to constantly write on this blog and talk about wine. I love wine, and I want to share my knowledge with you so you can go out and try new wines with confidence. Wine should be accessible and fun, not a complex equation to solve. Life is hard enough, and our wine shouldn’t be.

So let’s talk about Arizona wine. Arizona is collectively part of the Southwest and much like the other states, grapes were planted during the Spanish missions in the sixteenth century. The oldest Arizona vineyard on record was planted in 1703 by a Jesuit missionary around the Tucson area. So wine is not necessarily new in Arizona, but for the sake of quality, let’s skip a few centuries. The state’s first winery, Vina Sonoita, was opened in 1979 by Dr. Gordon Dutt, who was a scientist at the University of Arizona. In 1984, the first Arizona AVA, Sonoita, was established compared to their neighbor California, which had 44 AVAs. Today, Arizona has three recognized AVAs: Sonoita, Wilcox, and Verde Valley. Arizona has a unique diurnal temperature shift, and this allows the grapes to cool down after a long day in the sun. There are a variety of grapes planted, and in the early 2000s, Arizona saw its largest growth of production. Caduceus Cellars, which is my glass, opened in 2004 in Jerome, Arizona. I have visited their tasting room more times than I would like to admit. It is a really fun experience, and the wines are solid, highlighting Italian varietals. They even make a Vermentino; see, I told you…..not too far off from what I normally drink. I highly recommend a trip north to Jerome and if you don’t feel like traveling you can go to their website and order directly from the winery (depending on your state).

Until next Wine Wednesday….enjoy your glass of wine!

Is your pint of Guinness half full or half empty?

A reflection on my trip to Ireland and the Irish people.

This is my first post in a few years and I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for taking time to read this. You can look forward to reading new posts from me on Wednesday’s, affectionally known as Wine Wednesday!

In a unique twist this post is not about wine but about beer, specifically Guinness beer which is made and crafted with just as much love and devotion as any family owned winery. Like any good Irish tourist I dedicated a day to visit the Guinness Brewery. While I was there I learned about the history of the Guinness family and the sheer energy and ingenuity that it took to make their infamous beer. As I participated in the immersive tour I was surprised to learn how connected the land of Ireland was to each glass of beer and I couldn’t help but think about wine When you tour a winery it’s designed to draw you into the vineyards and you are swept away by the sheer beauty of your surroundings enhancing the experience that is in your glass. I had a similar experience as I listened to the stories of the wheat farmers on film as I touched the roasted barley and the aromas lingered on my hands waking up my taste buds. You don’t see vast Irish wheat fields like you see the vineyards, but when you look out you do see the majestic Wicklow Mountains that have provided water for the brewery since 1759. All of these Irish ingredients contribute to the Guinness signature flavor. As I strolled around the Gravity Bar I took in the panoramic views of Dublin as I sipped my perfectly poured glass of Guinness. I couldn’t help but think about Ireland and the Irish people and my experiences thus far. Everywhere we went the Irish people were warm and inviting and were happy to sit with us and share stories about Ireland. It was clear that they loved their country and each tale was layered in witty humor that is sometimes needed for sad stories about the past. As we walked through the busy streets of Dublin and stepped into crowded pubs people were happily listening to folk music full of Irish tales. It became clear to me in a country that once had their Gaelic language taken away from them how important music was. Irish music was not just another silly break-up song on the radio it was a story passed down from generation to generation about their shared history. As I looked around the pub and watched people smiling with pride as they listened to the music and laughed with friending holding pints of Guinness in their hands I thought to myself- what a happy group of people who lived their lives with the glass half full.

Ireland, named the Land of Winter by the Romans has a long and complicated history especially with the English. Ireland’s first king dates back to 1002 AD but the people constantly had to defend their homeland against foreign invaders and the country eventually fell under British rule. It wasn’t until 1949 that Ireland officially gained her independence back, that is 173 years after the United States of America battled England her own independence. The Irish are more than happy to talk about this and they do still to this day with a smile on their face and it made me laugh. My uncle used to tell me this joke about the Irish- he’d say an Irishmen can’t remember last night but he can remember 300 years ago and it appeared to be true. My Grandmother was 100% Irish and I had always felt more connected to her than my Grandfather’s stoic English side. She was always humming and telling me stories as she gardened and every time I garden I think of her today. I remember asking her one day about life, as I was struggling with a particular insignificant teenage problem and she told me that I have to learn to pick my battles and to find humor in the situation. She said having the ability to laugh at life and especially at yourself was a gift and then she told me that happiness was a choice. How can happiness be a choice I thought to myself? When I was in Ireland it became clear to me what she meant and it strengthened my connection to her. I was reminded of that day and what she had said many years ago about happiness being a choice. How can two people hear the same story, process the same information and one sees it with the glass of half full with laughter and light, and the other sees it half empty with a bitter darkness. Two things can be true at once the glass in front of you is half full and it is half empty.

On this Wine Wednesday pour yourself a pint of Guinness and ask yourself is my glass half full or half empty. My hope for you is that you see the light and smile at your perfect half full glass of Guinness.

Cheers!

Wine Wednesday

Happy Wine Wednesday! For me it is turning into a fun day, as you may or may not know dear readers, I sell wine for a living! Today I have a menu re-do, meaning I get to write a new wine list for a restaurant! So what does this entail?

This happens to be one of my favorite things to work on. I love sitting with my customers (many are my friends) brainstorming about what they envision for the upcoming season, what is currently working and what isn’t. What can we change and what will the customers revolt if we took it off the list. There is a lot of talking, pre-planning how many wines do we want, price points, regions, overall size of the list. Once a guideline is set-up, then the fun part comes DRINKING! It isn’t uncommon to sample more than sixty wines for a smaller list, roughly thirty bottles or so that will land on the wine list. Here is where the drinking concept changes though, it isn’t sitting around with your friends chatting about work, significant others, kids, economy and the possibility of world peace. It is about discussing drinking wine, we pour roughly two ounces, discuss the framework of the wine, how does it taste, appearance, perceived value, can you drink the wine alone or does it need food? What I mean by that is sometimes a wine will come off rather dull, think plain black sweater, but then you toss on a scarf and it completes the look. Wine is very similar, sometimes a touch of acidity from a tomato will transform the wine in the slightest way and all of a sudden you have something there. That doesn’t make it a bad wine, you need food to bring out the varietal characteristics and sometimes a wine can stand strong on its own, There are occasions you just want to sit and drink wine with friends and there are times when you want to have a meal and contemplate the wine. A good wine list needs both styles of wine.

When sorting out the wines you wonder can this particular wine bring something different to the wine list? Do we already have something similar? Not another Napa wine, maybe something from Puente Alto, Chile instead, lets look at that bottle again. Is it a good value to the customer? All of these questions are discussed in great detail, and after many similar conversations about each wine you get closer to completing a list. Once the wines have been picked, the wine finalists get their names written down, off to the printers! And then eventually in your glasses!

Then the real drinking can take place!

Pink is The New Black

Pink…oh let me count the ways I love pink, it is a shade that looks good on everyone.  Pink and wine?  Yes, pink and wine they are a match made in heaven.  Here are a few reasons why the next time you are out, you should try a rose and I am not suggesting that you purchase white zinfandel.  White wine gives us an astonishing acidity that is hard to resist, it is a friendly sundress with layers of fun, engaging fabric and perfect for happy hour and light dishes.  Red wine brings more depth and seriousness to the table, dressed in a seductive dark fruit accessorized with a velvety tannin scarf.  So what happens when the the two come together, the best of the best.  Take a glass of rose, and you have piercing mineral acidity layered in fresh raspberries topped with whipped cherries, there is a seriousness without all of the pomp and circumstance.  Once you start drinking serious rose, you will notice the eccentric flirtations with each glass.  The next time you are out shopping, ask your retailer about their hand selected choices.  And if you happen to find yourself on the patio of your favorite restaurant, ask your server about their rose selections.  They are true expressions of summer and now is the time to enjoy them.  If you are a red wine lover or if you are a monogamous white wine drinker, try a glass. 

 

Cheers!

Rose is not white zinfandel, and unfortunately there is a negative association about anything that is pink and is delivered in a glass. 

What to drink with food?

I am often asked about food and wine pairings.  The real answer is very simple DRINK what you like.  Seriously, in every staff training I explain that my mother loves a bacon cheeseburger with a glass of pinot grigio.  This is probably one of the worst food and wine parings, but that is irrelevant because that is what makes her happy. The ultimate goal for every beverage professional is to make sure their guests have the best dining experience, isn’t that the reason why you leave the house in the first place? Since dear reader you are not my mother, the wine I would suggest with a bacon cheeseburger is a rich syrah and my reasoning why?  The syrah/shiraz grape has intense dark fruits, rich pepper and just enough bacon fat to match the gooey cheese while playing up the smoky bacon flavors from the burger.  Syrah, a native to Northern Rhone, has a lot of depth with a smooth backbone of tannins to pull the fatty meat away.  We make these recommendations for you so that your second bite tastes like your first.  The next time you open up a Cote-Rotie sit for a moment and you will dream of bacon!

Here are a few quick things to consider before opening up a bottle of wine.  First, remember there are twenty-five ounces of wine per bottle, so on average four to five glasses per bottle.  It is never a good thing to run out of wine, so plan accordingly and unless you have given instructions for your guests to bring specific wine, don’t count on them.  I like having a cheese plate out before dinner this allows for casual mingling.  Serving cheese with wine is a great tradition, this dates back when wine was barely tolerable and people had to wash the bitterness down with cheese and bread.  It always nice having an assortment of cheeses, grapes, figs, nuts, good salami, smoked salmon and bread.  So some wines I would recommend serving are Oregon Pinot Noir, dolcetto- the bright acidity is always a nice accompaniment with food and a chardonnay that has seen some oak.

I have included a few pictures of pinot noir vines from the beautiful Domaine Drouhin Winery, located in Willamette Valley- Oregon.  I like serving Oregon Pinot Noir in the beginning of a meal, the silky tannins, bing cherry and earthy mushrooms cover a lot of flavor components and it is not a heavy red.  You don’t want your guests full before they start eating!

 

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Love at First Sight

This is a new blog that I am writing to share insight into the mysterious world of wine.  I should state loud and clear that my opinions are that of my own, and are not meant in anyway to exploit fellow wine drinkers, customers or wineries. It is simply meant to discuss and talk about wine, something that I am very passionate about.

I fell in love with wine at Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Winery, located in Woodinville – Washington. I had  just turned twenty-one and  I was visiting the winery with my family.  I was fascinated by the beauty and glamour of the vineyards.  I was lollygagging around the property taking in the lush landscape, giant oak trees towering over me, the chateau in the background (on the label of the bottles) I felt like I had stepped back into time.  There were people gathered in the front lawn having picnics, drinking wine, eating cheese and crackers.  In the tasting room as soon as I tried the pinot gris I was hooked.  I knew at that moment that I needed to be a part of this world.

Tasting Room’s are great opportunities to discover new wines.  New wineries are popping up everywhere and love enthusiastic wine drinkers!

Until next time…cheers!