—
Lettie Teague, wine columnist for the Wall Street Journal
And read more of her “Men Are From Cab, Women Are From Moscato?” column.
The gift shop at Montell Winery in Augusta, Mo., is full of great finds, including solving the part about including a card with gift of wine.
You know the drill - A greeting card is too big and doesn’t fit in the wine bag, but you want the person to know this fantastic bottle of ____ is from you.
Bottlenecks solves what could be an etiquette dilemma by letting you hang the card on the neck of the wine bottle. Brilliant! And the cards sell for $1.50 each.
And the following is straight from the Grapevine Wine Facebook posting this afternoon.
We will be tasting a number of summer wines and craft beers on Saturday. Come on by!
Enough said.
What’s not to love about this darn near perfect pinot noir rosé? It’s priced under $20, was wonderful in 2011 and this year’s vintage continues the Pisoni family’s tradition.
In St. Louis, I am happy to report that I have seen Lucy, truly one of the best rosés on the market, for sale at Randall’s, The Porch in Soulard.
And Chris Kelling, general manager at Niche says that Lucy will be appearing in a week or so as part of the menu’s new rosé by the bottle listing. Six rosés from Missouri, California, Italy, Spain and France will be featured, including Domaine de l’Hermitage Bandol L’Oratoire Rosé from Provence.
Niche is also offering Chaumette Winery & Vineyard’s excellent rosé by glass. Kelling says they are pairing this rosé, made from the chambourcin grape, with a crawfish tasting.
And Niche, I am also happy to report, is still located in Benton Park. Check out Niche’s Monday evening supper menu for $30. Here’s a look at what they’ve got planned for June 4.
First Course
Salad of Tuscan Kale; breadcrumbs, creamy pecorino and anchovy dressing
Entree (choice of)
Trout; potato confit, escarole, almonds, lemon brown butter
-or-
Roasted Chicken; zephyr squash, bok choy, dill, spring onion jus
*Vegetarian option available
Dessert (choice of)
Mixed Berry Buckle; lemon mint sorbet
-or-
Beatje Farms fleur de valee, seasonal accompaniment
-or-
Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce
What a way to begin the month of June. It’s time to stroll through the art vendor tents, sip a little wine, then take another stroll back through the tents. In your second pass-through, you’ll be armed with the confidence to escape your comfort zone long enough to admit that, “Yes, I will buy that lamp made out of a bowling ball” or ”I really do need earrings that come three to a pair.”
Or maybe that’s just me. Ahem.
So anyway, tonight from 6 to 10 p.m., there will 24 wines available for sampling at Art & Air, the annual outdoor art fair in Webster Groves, Mo. The folks at Robust Wine Bar selected the wines for Sip & Stroll, the opening celebration of the art fair. There will be more than 110 juried artists selling their crafts. Admission is free.
**This just in at 1:45 p.m. - Here’s a look at the prices for tonight’s Sip & Stroll, according to Mary at Robust Wine Bar.
* $6 for the actual wine glass
* $12 for four wine samples
* $24 for any of the 24 varieties of wine, to be consumed at Art & Air. The wines are based according to the wine bar’s innovative Robust Factor. And there will rosés!
And according to the event website, participating food trucks include:
* Chop Shop
* Feed Me
* Zia’s on the Hill
* Guerrilla Street Food
* Papa Tom’s Fancy Franks
* Summer Truck
Hours for this weekend’s Art & Air
* 6-10 p.m. Friday
* 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday
* Noon-5 p.m. Sunday
Click here for directions to Art & Air, located on the campus of Eden Theological Seminary. Have a great weekend!
The secret to remembering the name of that great rosé, pinot, zin, port or whatever wine that’s currently striking your fancy, is as close as your smartphone.
That’s right, take a picture of the label. My advice would be to take a photo before you’re way into finishing off the bottle, if you know what I mean.
And if you don’t like the wine? Simply delete the photo.
Taking photos of wine labels is a great way to create your own e-wine log. And if you’re not the nimblest with that tiny smartphone keypad, a simple camera click is an easier way to achieve the same result.
What a great way to kick off your weekend.
Tonight from 5:30 to 7 p.m., a great selection of rosés will get their due at Grapevine Wines and Cheeses, 309 S. Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood, Mo., during a free tasting.
Store owners Bob, Mike and Diana Gray do a fantastic job of recommending and educating customers about wine in their classes and monthly Friday night wine tastings, so I’m sure this event will be no exception. Anything to help people discover rosés can be dry, refreshing and wonderful is OK by me.
But tonight’s rosé wine tasting is free! If you get the chance, stop by Grapevine Wines in downtown Kirkwood, and tell them Redheads on Rosés sent you. Sorry, you won’t get anything for telling them that, but it would be neat to see how many folks come out for this event because they read this blog.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Tom ”Murph” Murphy, vineyard manager at Chandler Hill Winery, pours a glass of 2011 Cold Spring Rosé. (photo by Jackie Parker)
In a blind taste test, many thought Chandler Hill Vineyards 2011 Cold Spring Rosé was a Rosé Syrah.
Chandler Hill Vineyards in Defiance, Mo., will release its Cold Spring Chambourcin Rosé on Sunday, May 6. This 2011 vintage was grown, harvested, fermented and bottled on the premises. You’ll recall that many of Chandler Hill wines also come from California, Oregon and Washington state, so this is extra special.
And at less than 40 miles from the city of St. Louis, Chandler Hill Vineyards is a great destinations for folks looking for a quick afternoon getaway.
Winery and restaurant hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Here’s a quick look at Cold Spring Chambourcin Rosé being bottled.
I haven’t heard any descriptions of how this wine tastes, but I’m looking forward to trying another in the growing list of Missouri-grown Rosés.
This sounds like a lot of fun.
(Photo credits - Chandler Hill Vineyards)
Jackie Parker lives in St. Louis, Mo., and is an active participant in the local food and wine scene. Translation: She likes to eat and drink. And with her recent layoff from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, she's even more eager to share eating and drinking opportunities with you. An award-winning travel editor and writer, Jackie studied wine at the Culinary Institute of America's St. Helena, Calif. campus in 2011, with winemaker/writer/musician Jeff Morgan. There, she was inspired by Morgan and her classmates to begin writing a blog in an effort to help give Rosé wine its due.
She's a native of western Kentucky - West Paducah to be exact - and remembers when her grandfather kept his homemade wine cool in the well house out back, but that doesn't make her an oenophile.
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