Cotes du Rhone is the second largest appellation in France, exceeded only by Bordeaux. This massive wine producing region has over 44,000 hectares and 140,000 acres under vine. This adds up to over $100 million worth of wine production, every year. The largest buyers are from the UK, with France a close second. The Beginning of […]
Move Over Wine: Make Room for Beer from Spain
The Change in Spain We easily associate wine with Spain; however, this country is also home to Europe’s oldest beer production, dating back over 4,400 years ago in Soria (located on the Douro River to the east of Castile and Leon). Wine was pushed aside when the Romans introduced viticulture. This changed in 1516 when Flemish-born Charles […]
Bordeaux wines meet up @ Bagatelle in Manhattan
For those who need to be seen, the go-to French Mediterranean restaurant in the Meatpacking district of Manhattan is Bagatelle. Gentlemen take note: The name means the “light courtship of a woman.” Designed and managed by French Aymeric Clemente & Remi Laba, this restaurant creates an atmosphere and menu that suggests the flavors of the […]
New Yorkers Discover French Roses
Picture this: It is a late on a summer afternoon; you are relaxing with friends on the terrace of your Manhattan penthouse. The weather is hot, humid, damp, rainy, definitely undesirable. What wine is the perfect selection for improving the mood? A French Rose! Not any French Rose… but the French Rose from Chateau de Berne (Provence) that […]
French Bistro Dining in NYC: Almost Next-door @ Paname
While it is wonderful to discover restaurants in Paris and Rome, St. Charles, Missouri and Sarasota, Florida – a really rewarding food discovery happens when it is a 5-minute walk from home. Eastside Neighborhood Paname opened in November 2014 on Manhattan’s eastside, in a neighborhood with limited options for dining, making Paname (1028 Second Avenue, between 56 […]
Cognac Begins with Grapes. Apples Become Calvados
Have you ever considered an alternative path for grapes; one that leads to something other than wine? Are you ready to acknowledge that not all wine stays as wine, and some wines actually continue their production journey to become brandy…and a few very special grapes – are destined to become Cognac? Only One Cognac While Cognac […]