Nancy (CSW), Author at Pull That Cork

Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio: A PG That Won’t Disappoint

January 21, 2016 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

I pulled the bottle of Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio from the refrigerator and grabbed my favorite wine glass, a Zalto Denk’Art Universal glass. It required a firm grip and a bit of muscle to remove the screw cap from the bottle of wine. I poured an ounce or so into my glass, put the screw cap back on the wine bottle and placed it in the refrigerator.

As I turned my attention to the glass of Pinot Grigio, the most amazing aromas greeted me — even before I lifted the glass to my nose. This was my first hint that this Pinot Grigio, grown in Alto Adige (and sent to us as a tasting sample), was no ordinary Pinot Grigio.

Food, Wine and Music: Paul Cullen and Tune Your Palate

January 13, 2016 by Nancy (CSW) 2 comments

Paul Cullen, former Bad Company bassist, has turned his attention from rock music to Italian food and wine with music to accompany both. Through his enterprise, Tune Your Palate, he will arrange to cook delicious authentic Italian dishes for you and your friends in your own kitchen. He creates wine pairings to match and then plays music while you enjoy both. Sounds like a delicious idea doesn’t it?

Something New for #winePW: Faire la Fête + Dinner to Go

January 8, 2016 by Nancy (CSW) 15 comments

Our first Wine Pairing Weekend for 2016 has us “Celebrating Something New in the New Year.” This month’s host, Camilla Mann, who blogs at Culinary Adventures with Camilla, extended the challenge to all of us. It’s the perfect theme for the first month of a new year.

Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Vineyard: An Elegant Addition to your Dinner Table

December 23, 2015 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

The bottle came wrapped in tissue paper. A little package to unwrap, adding to the anticipation of finally tasting the wine. Pete pulled the cork and we gave it a quick sniff. We looked at each other and smiled. He poured a small glass for us to sample before pouring the remainder of the bottle into a decanter. It would be an hour before our friends arrived for dinner.

Ferrari: Sparkling Wine From the Mountains of Northeastern Italy

December 14, 2015 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

November was the most enjoyable month of wine tastings I have experienced in some time. I spent Tuesday evenings participating in Protocol Wine Studio’s #winestudio Twitter chats and sampling extraordinary sparkling wine made in the mountains of northeastern Italy. In all, we received four sparkling wines as tasting samples produced by Cantine Ferrari. Each Tuesday evening special guests joined the conversation to explain Ferrari’s history, farming practices, production methods and we sipped a different Ferrari wine as we learned about Ferrari. It’s a genius way to learn about wine.

Celebrating in Style with Giulio Ferrari for #winePW

December 11, 2015 by Nancy (CSW) 19 comments

Sparkling Wine and Festive Holiday Dishes is the theme for our December Wine Pairing Weekend thanks to this month’s host Cindy Rynning whose blog is cleverly called Grape Experiences. What a delicious pairing idea!

Sparkling wines are among my very favorite wines. I love the variety of flavors, variable degree of sweetness and the large number of grape varieties that are used to make sparkling wine. And, they’re generally so food friendly.

Cabernet Franc: It Finally Has a Day of Its Own!

December 4, 2015 by Nancy (CSW) 2 comments

Today’s the day. December 4, 2015. The first #CabFrancDay. The tasty variety finally has a day of its own. The tasty variety finally has its own day. Cabernet Franc is one of the first varietal wines I learned to love, thanks to weekly wine tasting at a local wine shop.

Windrun Pinot Noir: An Accidental Wine Tasting

December 1, 2015 by Nancy (CSW) 4 comments

It was a beautiful fall morning in San Francisco, warm enough to enjoy an iced coffee at an outdoor table in Union Square. I was taking in the sights and sipping my coffee when I heard a woman ask, “Do you mind if we share this table?” I looked up and replied, “Not at all, please do!”

Three Expressions of Carmenere from Concha y Toro

November 23, 2015 by Nancy (CSW) 4 comments

These days, Carmenere is a varietal wine most closely associated with Chile. But, that is a relatively recent development — within the last 20 years. Lucky for those of us who enjoy Carmenere, viticulturists brought cuttings to Chile from France before the phylloxera epidemic of the 1860s all but destroyed the variety in its native Bordeaux region. Because Carmenere can be difficult to grow and fully ripen in Bordeaux, after the phylloxera epidemic it was not widely replanted. As a result, Chile is home to the vast majority of Carmenere plantings world wide.

Delightful Dinner Partners from Portugal’s Tejo Wine Region

November 17, 2015 by Nancy (CSW) Comments are Disabled

Wines from Portugal? Yes, please! With more than 200 indigenous grape varieties and a wide variety of growing conditions, Portugal has plenty to offer the adventurous wine drinker. We recently had the opportunity to sample four wines from the Tejo (pronounced te-zhoo) wine region of Portugal. Until 2009 this region was know as Ribatejo.