Kris Chislett

This Week In Wine – 12/25/11

  Gallo Winery Gets Russian River Valley AVA Expanded. After years of regulatory wrangling, mega-producer E. & J. Gallo eventually emerged victorious in its quest to enlarge the Russian River Valley AVA, in a decision announced by the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau (TTB) on Nov. 16, 2011, effective Dec. 16.  As requested in the petition from Gallo Family Vineyards, the ruling expands the RRV AVA by 14,044 acres (about 23 square miles). The AVA…

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Hilarious One-Liner Restaurant Reviews from Zagat.com

The following list of one-liner restaurant "reviews" are directly quoted from restaurant customers quoted on Zagat.com. These are actual restaurant reviews, none are made up. Individually, many of these are pretty funny. Collectively, they’re hilarious. (My personal favorites are highlighted in bold). I actually started putting this article together over a year ago, and it’s a good job I researched them when I did as Zagat.com is now a paid subscription only service. “The waiter…

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4 Wine Descriptors I Hate.

“Four? That’s a random number!” Why would he choose four!?!?” Because I couldn’t think of a fifth one, ok!!! Give me a break!!! Truth be told, I could have probably included more, but what is about to follow are the four I hear the most….but first…a short prologue… Working in a wine bar, I’m constantly approached by Servers with the same type of question: “Hey Kris…..I have this guy who’s looking for a red wine….

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This Week in Wine–12/18/11

  French Lessons: Why Letting Kids Drink At Home Isn’t ‘Tres Bien’ Many European parents, and some American ones, too, have long figured if they let their kids drink alcohol at home, they’d be less likely to go hog wild with their friends. But recent studies of teen drinking behavior don’t bear that out. That’s unwelcome news in places like France, where these scientific developments are running head long into a culture that loves its…

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Perrin & Fils “Les Sinards”Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone, France, 2007

  Grape 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre   Facts I do have to say, I’ve always had an affinity for Chateauneuf-du-Pape, even before I started really getting into wine. Maybe it’s because, for some reason,  I deemed it to be my first “serious” bottle of vino.  I’ve always thought of Chateauneuf to be almost stuck in time. Whereas most other wine regions of the world have seen at least a partial amount of modernization;…

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Coffee-Roasted Duck Paired with HeartSmart “For Giving” Mount Veeder Cabernet, 2008.

With December being such a crazy month (my wife works in retail, and I work in a restaurant), eating at home has kind of taken a backseat over the last few weeks. Therefore, I do have to say that these food and wine pairing articles have also been a little sparse. Who wants to get home after working a 12+ hour shift, and cook? Not me! I’m sure we’re not in a minority on this,…

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