Something To Drink
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This Week’s Wine December 29, 2008
This week brings the conclusion of what is generally considered the Champagne season – from Christmas to New Year’s – and sale prices make it a good time to stock up. But there’s really no need to limit one’s consumption of what many consider the world’s finest alcoholic drink to such a brief period of
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This Week’s Wine December 14, 2008
Gaia Gaja grew up in the small hillside town of Barbaresco, in the Piedmont region of Italy, and like a lot of young people in small towns everywhere, she didn’t like it very much. "There was nothing to do," she said, echoing the almost-universal complaint. And then, going into the family wine business and traveling
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This Week’s Wine, November 23, 2008
Bubbly is beautiful almost any time, but it’s special for Thanksgiving, when people gather at the festive table. A variety of palates sit around it, a variety of food is displayed on top, and sparkling wine not only adds gaiety, but also will work with almost any taste preference or type of cooking. France, and
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This Week’s Wines November 9, 2008
Think outside the box, they tell us, and there are good things about the advice, although it is not the be-all and end-all response to all problems. After all, if Dracula had not thought inside the box how to get outside the box, think how many writers and actors would never have had the chance
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This Week’s Wine: October 7, 2008
Once known as an area of small farms and a history influenced by lead mines in the area, Ste. Genevieve and St. Francois counties, about 60 miles south of St. Louis, are growing rapidly as grape-and-wine country, challenging Missouri’s more venerable wine sites like Augusta and Hermann as places to visit on a weekend.
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This Week’s Wine 28, 2008
There’s a certain pretentiousness involved in setting up what is called a "national Norton wine festival" and attracting only 12 wineries, all from the state of Missouri. Of course, modesty has been in short supply in the Missouri wine establishment ever since the politicians and marketers took control, pushing the winemakers and grape-growers aside and
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This Week’s Wine, September 2, 2008
Montelle Winery, on the hills to the east of Augusta, won the Governor’s Cup as the best Missouri wine of 2008, duplicating the winery’s triumph of 2007, and it’s a tribute to Clayton Byers, a founder, to Bob and Judy Slifer, long-time owners, and to Tony Kooyumjian, current owner and winemaker, for being good stewards
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This Week’s Wine August 23, 2008
One of the reasons that there are so many wineries is that so many different people like to drink wine, and grow grapes, and make wine. Each is certain that his or her way is the best way, sometimes the only way, to do it. People who go to California, or Missouri, or anyplace else
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This Week’s Wine July 20, 2008
Even in the midst of summer, I prefer red wine with main courses. The big, full-bodied Cabs, Shiraz, Zinfandel and most Pinot Noirs, are excellent companions to meat dishes that come sizzling off the grill; the ones with bigger body are a fine complement to barbecue. Some of the lighter wines are surprisingly delicious with
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This Week’s Wine, July 6, 2008
Summer’s here! Chill the wine! As St. Louis sinks into the summer doldrums, with fierce heat, bright sun and high humidity adding to our discomfort, relief is as close as the nearest refrigerator or cooler, because there should be some white or rose wine resting there, offering more chill than an oak tree’s shade. There