Food, Tasting Notes

Ethiopian Food Revisted

I recently realized that I was a complete idiot because I didn’t think I liked Ethiopian food. It all stems from my first Ethiopian meal about 15 years ago. I got freaked out by the Ethiopian bread, or injera, a slightly sour tasting crepe that you…

Wine 101

Champagne Baby

I recently hosted a baby shower for my friend Aimee. There were 12 women attending and the focus was on chatting (i.e. no baby shower games). Not knowing how many of my guests drank—or how much—I wanted to be prepared, so I bought two bottles…

Wine 101

Whine 101: Why does wine cost so much?

Ever wonder why wine is so expensive? Or how much it costs to make a bottle of wine? Or better yet, what it costs to get the wine to you? Sadly, you are paying way beyond what it cost to produce the wine, thanks to…

Wine 101

What makes a great wine store?

To prepare for a recent Wine Tribe gathering, I moseyed over to Esquin Wines (www.esquin.com) in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood. I have always liked Esquin but haven’t thought too much about why. I managed to catch up with Jeff Fournier who is their head wine buyer….

Wine Travel

Yummy Lummi: A Weekend Adventure

Big Red and I like to get away once a month for new adventures. This time we headed to Lummi Island, home of the famed Willows Inn. I started coming here about three years ago and was blown away by the location (remote, yet easily…

Red, Tasting Notes, White

The August Wine Tasting Results Are In

There were some definite winners and losers from our first Wine Tribe tasting. The theme was Old World versus New World summer wines. The wines we sampled were: 2010 Les Charmes Macon-Lugny Chardonnay ($13.99), 2009 Edna Valley Chardonnay ($12.99), 2011 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc ($7.99), 2010…

Food, Tasting Notes

Foolproof Salmon and Other Recipes

Herb Vinaigrette If you can get your hands on some fresh herbs and you know how to chop then you should really be using this homemade dressing versus the store-bought stuff. It is delightfully light, super fresh and easy to make. Ingredients (makes 1 cup):…

Tasting Notes

First ever Wine Tribe tasting!

We had our inaugural tasting on Friday night.  It was an electrifying mix of 15 people; 1 representing the Accessible Tribe, 2 in the Balanced Tribe, 10 in the Developed Tribe and 2 in the Complex Tribe. We did a blind tasting of old and new world wines,…

Wine Travel

Walla Walla Wine Tour

Big Red and I recently toured Walla Walla. He has never been and given that I adore the place it seemed like the right thing to do. We landed at the airport and there was one taxi. One! Hey, Walla Walla, how ’bout more cabs…