Always Ravenous - Adventures in Food and Wine

Merlot Pairing: Baked Pasta with Sausage Ragù

October 9, 2020 By Jane 10 Comments

October is #MerlotMe month! This celebration of Merlot happens to coincide with a seasonal shift in the kitchen. Fewer daylight hours and more time indoors translates to comfort foods that simmer longer on the stove or in the oven, developing layers of flavors. I made a baked pasta with sausage ragù adapted from “Open Kitchen” by Susan Spungen and paired it with a sampling of Washington and California Merlot wines.

Join the Wine Pairing Weekend group Saturday, October 10th, at 11:00 AM ET on Twitter for our annual celebration of #MerlotMe month (follow hashtag #winepw). Don’t miss more articles from the group and discover some new favorite Merlot wines and food pairings at the end of this post.…

Lamb Meatballs Paired with Côtes du Rhône

September 18, 2020 By Jane 10 Comments

Who isn’t looking for that easy go-to wine, especially during the week? The answer just may be found with a bottle of Côtes du Rhône wine. They are easy-drinking wines upon release, come in a variety of styles, and a great value. Another plus for Côtes du Rhône wines, they pair well with comfort foods like stews, braises, and you guessed it, lamb meatballs.

This month the French Winophiles are exploring the Côtes du Rhône region in southeastern France. Check out more articles from the group at the bottom of this post and join our Twitter chat on Saturday, September 19th, 2020, at 11:00 AM ET. Follow the chat using hashtag #winophiles.…

Fall Harvest Dinner with Wine Pairings

September 11, 2020 By Jane 8 Comments

And just like that, there is a change in the air. The mornings and evenings are cooler and the days shorter. In the vineyards, the grapes have started to change color, vérasion, and harvest begins. At the farmers’ markets, tomatoes, corn, and berries give way to fall produce like figs, apples, hearty greens, and root vegetables. My favorite way to embrace this seasonal change is to come together around the table for a fall harvest dinner with wine pairings.

This month the Wine Pairing Weekend group is celebrating the season’s harvest. Topics will include climate change impacts, harvest reports from vineyards and wineries, and of course, here at Always Ravenous, food and wine pairings. The Wine Pairing Weekend group will be chatting live on Twitter, Saturday, September 12, 2020, at 11:00 AM ET. Follow the Twitter chat using hashtag #WinePW. More great articles on celebrating the harvest can be found at the end of this post from the group.…

Savory Cheese Crostata Paired with Moldovan Wines #WinePW

July 10, 2020 By Jane 8 Comments

Wine Adventure anyone? Ever hear of Moldova? Moldova is located between Romania and Ukraine in Eastern Europe. The country has a rich and long wine history, the first known grapevines dating back to 7000 BC and winemaking around 3000 BC. It has the highest density of vineyards globally, with plantings of international and indigenous grape varieties. Some of the world’s largest wine cellars are in Moldova, including the cellars at Milestii Mici – registered in the Guinness Book of World Records with over 1.5 million bottles of wine. What better way to explore Moldovan wines than to taste and pair them with a savory cheese crostata.

This month the Wine Pairing Weekend group is traveling virtually to Moldova. Jeff from FoodWineClick is our host and arranged for wine samples from Wine of Moldova. Don’t miss more adventures on Moldovan wines from the group at the end of this post. And join us for our Moldovan wine chat on Twitter, Saturday, July 11th at 11:00 AM ET using hashtag #winepw to follow the conversation.…

Picnic Fare Paired with Finger Lakes Wines #WinePW

June 12, 2020 By Jane 12 Comments

This month the Wine Pairing Weekend group is taking a virtual trip to the Finger Lakes wine region in Upstate New York. The eleven finger like lakes were formed by glaciers back in the ice age. Iroquois tribe legend believes the Finger Lakes to be those of the Great Spirit. While the region has a cool continental climate, the warming effect of the lakes and steep vineyard slopes put this region on the map for producing top quality aromatic Riesling along with Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, and Pinot Gris. I’ve packed my picnic basket full of picnic fare and, of course, some Finger Lakes wines, as I taste and pair my way through this unique American wine-growing region….

Tasting Tuscan Sangiovese Paired with Comforting Pot Roast

I am in this mood. Foods that I haven’t cooked for years, I am now craving like pot roast. Rituals that got squeezed out of my routine are back, like Sunday Suppers at the table with family. It seems over the last three months, many of us have more time to think, daydream, and indulge…

Chicken Wild Rice Hot dish paired with Cru Beaujolais

Beaujolais is a region in France, south of Burgundy and north of Lyon. There are three classifications of Beaujolais; Beaujolais AOC, Beaujolais Villages, and Cru Beaujolais. (for more background information on the classifications check out an earlier post here). Cru Beaujolais is the jewel of Beaujolais producing wines with varying styles, complexity, aging potential, food-friendly,…

Thanks to Domaine Carneros for sponsoring this post by providing me with two bottles of their sparkling wines. All opinions are my own. When was the last time you popped open a bottle of sparkling wine? Almost certainly for a birthday, holiday, or other celebratory events. Sparkling wine comes in a range of price points,…

Shrimp in Curry Coconut Broth Paired with Marsanne

Hermitage is one of 8 appellations in the Northern Rhône wine-growing region of France. (The other appellations are; Côte Rôtie, Cornas, Saint-Péray, Crozes-Hermitage, Condrieu, Château-Grillet, and Saint Joseph.) The appellation is known for producing some of the most sought after Syrah wines. But it is Hermitage’s white wines made from Marsanne and Roussanne that are…

Merlot Pairing: Baked Pasta with Sausage Ragù

Lamb Meatballs Paired with Côtes du Rhône

Fall Harvest Dinner with Wine Pairings

Savory Cheese Crostata Paired with Moldovan Wines #WinePW

Picnic Fare Paired with Finger Lakes Wines #WinePW

Tasting Tuscan Sangiovese Paired with Comforting Pot Roast

Cru Beaujolais: Tasting and Food Pairings

Why Sparkling Wine is a Versatile Food Pairing

A Taste of Hermitage Marsanne #winophiles

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