Although I lived in Burgundy for just over a year, I somehow managed to never make it to Beaujolais. If I believed in regrets, this might be one of mine. However, now I have an excuse to return to this renowned French wine region. As if I needed one. Nonetheless, Beaujolais is a fantastic wine region boasting accessible and often easy drinking red wines made from Gamay. I drank quite a few bottles while in France and those from Moulin-à-Vent stood above the rest. The region has never been my go-to, but I find myself thoroughly enjoying most Beaujolais I’ve tried over the years. They frequently ..read more

New year, new wine destinations! Treat yourself in 2022 and start exploring the fine wine regions of the world. I’m sure you’ve heard about Piedmont or Champagne, but how much do you know about these European wine regions? The good news is you don’t have to be a wine expert to enjoy a trip to wine country. However, understanding some essential information will help ensure you make the most of  your wine travels. More importantly, this knowledge will help you enjoy your Italian or French fine wine even more. That’s what this guide is here for.  The easiest way to visit these regions i ..read more

Whether you’re a wine novice or well on your way to becoming a connoisseur, you’re bound to be enamored with Burgundy at some point on your wine journey. Home to some of the world’s most sought-after wines, Burgundy sets the gold standard for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The region’s first vineyard was planted in Meursault in the first century A.D. Notably, for a thousand-year period from the eighth century until the French Revolution, Benedictine and Cistercian monks became the largest landowners in Burgundy. With their methodical nature, these monks cultivated the vineyards of the region plot ..read more

When summer arrives and temperatures climb, many wine lovers tend to reach for white, sparkling, and rosé wines. Yes, these are often fresher and easier drinking with minimal tannins and brighter acidity. Just what you need to quench your thirst while baking under the summer sun. Yet just because it’s warmer outside doesn’t mean it’s time to lock your reds away in the wine fridge until the the fall. In fact, many of the best red wines for summer are just as delicious served chilled.   Typical Red Wine Serving Temperature First, let’s cover a quick refresher on the ideal serving temperatur ..read more

When it comes to wine tasting, deciphering the numerous aromas in wine isn’t necessarily easy for everyone. If you’ve ever looked at a winery’s tasting notes and seen words like ‘pencil shavings’ or ‘grilled plum’ or ‘fresh cut garden hose’ and thought to yourself…what the hell are they talking about? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Sense of smell is largely personal. First, not all of us have the same capacity for this sense. Secondly, a person’s sense of smell is essentially based on previous experiences. In other words, we know what things smell like because we’ve smelled them before. This i ..read more

When you’re craving a taste of French wine country, look to Vivant. While nothing can replace walking through vineyards and perusing musty cellars with the winemakers themselves, Vivant comes close. This is coming from someone who fell in love with wine while doing just that. Touching galets amongst the vineyards of the Southern Rhône Valley. Tasting Grenache directly from barrels in Gigondas. Asking the winemaker about the vintage in my glass. No, nothing can beat an authentic experience like that. That being said, Vivant is a wine tasting experience that holds its own. An experience which I ..read more

This week’s French cheese adventure takes us to the Champagne region to discover Langres AOP. Originally, farmers of the region made this cheese by pouring warm cow’s milk into terracotta molds called fromettes. The cheese was eventually flipped out of the molds onto lime tree leaves. Then, left to dry and subsequently age on oat straw. Langres received it’s AOP designation in 2012, signifying quality and certain standards of production. Yet this cheese had a Certified Designation of Origin since 1991. Today, this is a washed-rind, cow’s milk cheese produced with an intense process of successi ..read more

This French cheese feature is both delicious and adorable. Neufchâtel cheese was created in 1035 in its namesake town in Normandy, France. The soft-ripened cow’s milk cheese is one of the oldest cheeses in the country. Though Neufchâtel is formed into a variety of shapes, the most common and eye-catching is this heart-shaped form. Legend has it that the Farm girls fell in love with English soldiers during the Hundred Years War. They began making the heart shaped cheeses to demonstrate their love. Established in 1969, the Neufchâtel AOC encompasses industrial, farm, and artisanal production. Th ..read more

This week’s French fromage feature is on Morbier. It was definitely love at first bite with this one. The first time I tasted Morbier, we were at a friend’s house for a small get together shortly after I arrived in Burgundy. The hostess asked me which cheese I had yet to try from a handful of options she had on hand. I pointed to the cream-colored cheese with a grey line running through it. Since that first creamy, savory bite, I was hooked. This cheese has made a regular appearance in my kitchen from then on. Morbier AOP Morbier AOP is a raw cow’s milk cheese specifically from two types of co ..read more

If you saw a pyramid-shaped cheese at the market, could you resist the urge to buy it? I definitely could not. So, the next French cheese we are exploring is, in fact, shaped like a pyramid. This French cheese is called Pouligny Saint-Pierre AOP. Pouligny Saint-Pierre is produced in the smallest delimited zone, or Appellation d’Origine, for cheeses in France. Actually, this cheese is made in the heart of the Brenne Regional Natural Park. The bell tower of the church of Pouligny Saint-Pierre in the Indre inspired the cheese’s pyramid shape. It’s been made here since the 18th century. This chee ..read more