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Category: Wine tasting

Clif Family Does Wine Right

I dare say there is not an adult in this country that has not eaten a Clif Bar at some point in their life. Thanks to the success of those bars, Clif Family has also ventured into winemaking in Napa Valley. And like anything that they do, they do it incredibly well, and they go big. Many successful wineries in Napa may offer five wines. At Clif Family, I counted 24 on their website. As I said, they go BIG. Clif Family Winery On A Whim During my May of 2018 trip to Napa, we made a last-minute stop at…

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Wine & Company on Upper Meeting St.

Wine bars have exploded all over Charleston. For the longest time, the best that I could tell, there were just two, Bin 152 on lower King St. and Avondale Wine and Cheese in West Ashley. Then the trend hit Charleston, and there seemed to be a new one opening every few months, as well as pre-existing bars tweaking their offerings to become a wine bar. My unofficial count at this point is fourteen. Some might argue that there are more, but I am happy with my count. But there was one I kept coming up in conversation, Wine & Company,…

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White Wine – Three You May Not Know

Three White Wines beyond The Big Three If you drink white wine, it is more than likely a Chardonnay, Pinot Gris/Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc. And if you like one of them you probably are not fond of the other two. That is just the way it is as we are conditioned to stick with what we know. But I am here to tell you that there is so much more in the white wine world to be consumed and you are truly missing out on some great juice. I have recently been on a white wine quest, and I wanted…

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Edison James Island Wine Dinner

Edison James Island Klinker Brick Wine Dinner You all know by now that I am a huge fan of wine dinners. The ones I attend tend to cost in the $90 to $125 range including tax and gratuity, although I have seen some advertised for as much as $200 to $300 per person. This occasion was my first wine dinner at Edison James Island. In my experience, wine dinners always sell out, and that makes me very happy. What made this wine dinner so interesting to me is the quality to price ratio (QPR) of the Klinker Brick wines and…

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Portuguese, Serbian & Italian Tasting * Pt 2

I promised you that I would post the remaining six wines that were part of the Croatian & Portuguese Wine Tasting. If you missed that post, you could check it out by clicking on the link. I still think about how much fun we had that evening. Going to wine tastings is the best way to broaden your palate and find new wines to add to your cellar or wine rack. These wines are amazingly affordable and were a big hit at the tasting. Portuguese Wine: Avicella Rosé 2017, Vinho Verde This classic Portuguese wine from Vinho Verde has slight…

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Laherte Frères Champagne Wine Dinner

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of attending the Laherte Frères Champagne Dinner at Edmund’s Oast. All of the wine dinners I have gone to at Edmund’s Oast have been a lot of fun as well as great learning experiences. But I was super excited about this one because I have a significant knowledge deficit when it comes to the art of champagne. Since this is one of Sarah O’Kelley’s (the sommelier at Edmund’s Oast), favorite producers, I knew I was in for a treat. Side note: All Champagne is sparkling wine. But all sparkling wine is NOT…

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Croatian Wine Tasting * Part 1

My friend’s John and Irene have an online wine store (Topochines.com) that sells Croatian wine as well as wines from a few other countries. The wines are always unique and from off the beaten path wineries. I had sampled some of the Croatian wine and knew that I needed to introduce these wines to others in Charleston. I decided to put together a wine tasting and invited some of my wine pals to partake. Happily, I ended up being 15 folks who heeded the call. It turned out that we sampled a total of 12 wines: six Croatian wines, four…

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Charleston Wine and Food Festival

Surviving Sunday in the Culinary Village At this year’s Charleston Wine and Food Festival, I attended the Culinary Village in Marion Square. This is my second year. And like last year, I chose to go on Sunday because they offer a “local resident” ticket at just $95.00 versus the regular price of $135.00. I may decide to pay the extra $40.00 and go on Friday or Saturday next year to see if I am missing anything. Start with a Hearty Breakfast One of the things I learned last year is that the food lines are obscenely long. And when you…

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