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Tag: pinot noir

Ketcham Estate – A Lunch Tasting

Allie Ketcham comes to Charleston. We meet for lunch and sample three wines. Recently, Gary and I had the opportunity to meet up with Allie Ketcham, owner of Ketcham Estate—a woman-owned winery with a female winemaker in the Russian River Valley. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ketcham Estate, a very brief history Mark Ketcham’s (1955-2020) dream of owning a vineyard and making wine began in the year 2000 with the purchase of 17.5 acres (13 planted to vine) in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Four years later, he founded Ketcham Estate. Mark was a hard-core fan…

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Chilled Red Wine For Summer

{Chilled Red Wine For Summer is a long-form post. Reading time is approximately 7.3 minutes} Warmer weather is coming as we move from spring to summer. Here in Charleston, we have already had some days in the eighties, but the real heat with humidity is just around the corner. While Gary and I could drink white and rosé wines throughout the summer, sometimes you just have to have a glass of red wine. Nothing too big and heavy, but definitely red. Some red wines are great with a bit of a chill on them. That makes them perfect for summer.…

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Oregon Wine – It’s In My Glass

I used to drink a lot of Oregon Pinot Noir back in the day. And then I lost interest. Either my palate changed, the wines that I was drinking changed, or perhaps both. But I completely stopped drinking Oregon until my WWET Willamette Valley experience.  And now, I thank my lucky stars that I had this opportunity. That trip re-introduced me to the region with a fresh set of eyes and ears- not to mention a more educated palate. After the trip, I have continued my wine tasting journey of Oregon wine. As such, you will hear a lot more…

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In My Glass & Some Covid Laughs

Sheltering at home has become monotonous.   It is not that these days are much different than most other days, except for the fact that the choice to go out or not has been made for us. We have even continued our neighborhood happy hours, albeit at a social distance of 6 feet apart.  But it is a mental game that has been playing with my head. My ability to focus is limited by the ongoing distraction. To get out of my head, I need/want two things, laughs, and wine. So this post is some funny memes I have collected on…

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Le Cadeau Vineyard * Exceptional Pinot Noir

It was a beautiful and warm day on Parrett Mountain in the Chehalem AVA of Willamette Valley, Oregon. I, along with about ten others, was walking the Le Cadeau Vineyards property before we sat down to sample four of the Pinot Noir wines made from the fruit from the various blocks on the property. In total the property is twenty-eight acres of which sixteen are planted. From where we started the walk at the top of the slope you could see the entire property. It is amazing how large and how small sixteen acres are. One the one hand, we…

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Roundup – New Styles of Familiar Grapes

Fall Roundup – New Styles of Two Familiar Varieties This post is part two of my fall wine roundup. Different than the last post, you will undoubtedly recognize the two grapes referenced in the post, but you may not have tasted wine like these.  The grapes are Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir. These two cousins make incredible wine but depending on where the grapes grow and how the wine is made changes everything. And remember the comments will be short and to the point and end with a LOVE, LIKE, NMS (not my style), or GLove (Gary loves it) Pinot Grigio/Gris …

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Slovenian Wine Tasting at EO Exchange

Thursday evening was a great night to be a wine and food blogger. My friend Karen and I started our outing with a stop at Edmunds Oast Exchange for the Thursday evening wine tasting. This is a super deal and should not be missed. You make a $5.00 donation to the charity of the week, and you taste four wines in a walk-in style tasting. Ask all the questions you have running through your brain. Then buy some wine. They have excellent volume discounts. This week they were tasting Slovenian Wine from Movia. After the tasting, we headed to Felix Cocktails et Cuisine for…

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Tasting Recap, Little Big Thing & A Recipe

Wine Tasting Recap, A Fantastic Little BIG Thing, and A Bonus Recipe This past week was absolutely amazing. The week started with a birthday brunch and drinking bubbles. And because you asked, I also have a bonus recipe for you.  I am posting the Frittata recipe at the end of this post.  Next, I have a Little BIG Thing that is a  fantasmagorical find. I am super thrilled about it because it allows me to move towards no longer using plastic storage bags. Then on Thursday, we had the Pinot Noir Wine Tasting that was a raging success at Monarch Wine…

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