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What Started Out Big is Better Small
A Shake Shack mention in a news story inspires me not make their burger but rather their chicken sandwich with the intention of incorporating the sandwich into my catering offerings in a smaller, slider size.
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So What To Do When a PR Lady Offers to Send Three Bottles of Wine?
So I get an email from a woman with a public relations firm asking me if I would entertain receiving three bottles of wine from a winery not 20 minutes away from us in Sebastopol.
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Our Last Winemaker
Moondance Cellars is a bit off the beaten track and doesn’t exactly have flashing lights and a bunch of big signs in front of it telling you that you’re welcome to come in….
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Tasting Out of Town Wine in Town and Bad Biscuits
It was our pleasure to have toured down the Oregon’s Willamette Valley some eight years ago where we enjoyed the casualness of the area and found the wines to be very good so I was quite happy…
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You May be Jarred by My Tomato Sauce Review
I realize this statement may cause shock and turned up noses when I suggest that I often use a jared tomato sauce when a recipe only calls for a cup or two as a base for building a more complicated recipe. I usually grab whatever is on sale…
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Wine, Wine Everywhere – But Not So Great Chicken Sandwich News
Yes I know the title says there’s too much wine and the picture is McDonald’s Chicken Sandwiches but…
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Bubbles, Bubbles and Bubbles 2019
We recently visited Roederer and had the opportunity to taste the same wines in both formats and confirmed what I always believed that the larger format really makes a difference…
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A Fowl Report- ‘Now That’s a Piece of chicken”
“That’s a piece of chicken!” said a surprised tasting panel member. The truly Brioche bun holds a big, thick well-cooked solid piece of chicken with two big slices of pickle so you get pickle in every bite.
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Learning from Two Wine Legends
It was my good fortune to have recently attended a forum featuring five great Sonoma County winemaking pioneers and it was my pleasure to have had a few moments with two of the them, David Stare of Dry Creek Vineyards and David Ramey of Ramey Wine Cellars.
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Whose Bubbles are These?
It has come to my tasting attention over the last year or so that a number of wineries known for their big reds and luscious whites are now featuring a sparkling wine when in fact just months earlier there was none. Sparkling wine doesn’t just happen over the weekend and is a rather long-term and costly project…
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How I learned to Love Wine from “Humid” and Hot Years
Her comments and thoughts made so much sense when I was actually able to taste the wines as she discussed the challenges of the particular vintages and what she was able to do with the grapes. It truly was quite a thrill and I hope you’ll enjoy our conversation.
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What if You Had Nine Brands but Nobody Knew Your Name?
Oak Ridge Winery patriarch Rudy Maggio (left) is the classic immigrant success story; family emigrated from Italy and eventually to Lodi; at age 11 he joined his father in the packaged fruit business; in 1980 began growing and selling wine grapes; some years later the story continued.
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What Does that Bottle Cost? Depends on Where You Live and Who Your Retailer Knows
I was quite taken after a lunch conversation with an associate who had been in both the beer and wine industry on the distributor side and whose insight confirmed what I had suspected all along; when it comes to pricing in the liquor, beer and wine industry the only hard and fast rules are – that there aren’t any hard and fast rules.
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Woody's Whines // Woody's thoughts and opinions on a variety of subjects
What Started Out Big is Better Small
Writing from the edge of the Russian River in Sonoma County So with all the big wine tasting events around here canceled due to the Covid thing I’ve been working to doing a more food centric feature article for the Whine. I see the Shake…
So What To Do When a PR Lady Offers to Send Three Bottles of Wine?
Writing from the edge of the Russian River in Sonoma County So I get an email from a woman with a public relations and marketing firm on the East Coast that represents a number of fairly big time wineries asking me if I would entertain…
Wine Reviews // Tasty and reasonably priced reviews
Bordeaux You Could Actually Buy
Research tells me that the second label bottles of many Bordeaux wines – that’s what doesn’t fit in the first blend of major Chateaus, will be outstanding and probably at very good prices, a reflection of the old saw, “a rising tide lifts all boats”…..
A Whine of Wines
A Whine of Wines What follows is not truly a full Whine but it’s sort of a Whine and it’s about wine or should I say it’s information about wine that has come passed me recently and I as your faithful scribe am passing on…
Woody's Recipes // Great meals to go with great wines
Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese Pasta
FOR A CRUNCHIER TOPPING AND FIRMER CONSISTENCY Prepare recipe as directed but bake at 350 or 375 F degrees for 20-30 minutes. Broil at the end of baking for approximately 2-5 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy.
Latest Podcasts // Audio from interviews with the industry greats
podcast post
Our most recent wine adventure was a week long visit to the Willamette Valley wine country of western Oregon, what a remarkable area and what spectacular wines. It was the first week of October and the weather was terrific, sunny, warm and windy – they…
Chef and Retailer Michael Chiarello
As I travel and taste I always have my recorder and camera with me and I share those interviews with you at What Goes With What. We met at a wine tasting event in Chicago and on a trip to Napa and Sonoma I had an opportunity…