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With summertime upon us, it is logical for most of us to sip lighter  whites such as pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, riesling or a whole host of other refreshing wines. It’s also common for us to drink lighter-styled reds and even chill them a little before consuming them. One of the best lighter-textured reds is…

When I first started getting serious about wine, Chablis was the generic term for any white, particularly those mass produced vinous products that were bottled in half or full gallon jugs. No one knew anything about varietal labeling or even that there were different types of grapes that produced different types of wine. If it…

Good golly! I spent a good part of last week in our nation’s capitol where the temperature was a sizzling 98 degrees. And while I perspired my way through a few business meetings, I knew, at the end of the day I would be sipping some lovely beverages. I did just that and then enjoyed…

Adding my voice to the overwhelming chorus of satisfied visitors to Café Cimino might seem a bit trite, but a recent meal at this venerable West Virginia Bed and Breakfast is among the best I have ever experienced and I want to share it with you. I am no stranger to over-the-top, multi-course, belly-expanding meals…

I’m easily bored. Whether that’s a sign of a sterile imagination or an attention deficit disorder, I will admit that I am always searching for new experiences to stimulate me. Heck, maybe I need a curiosity transplant. Anyway, that’s probably why I’m obsessed with wine and food where there are endless opportunities to feed my…

In my hedonist’s mind, almost everything has a relationship to food and wine. This time of year, my thoughts turn to light and refreshing sparkling wines and roses along with medium-bodied, spicy reds like pinot noir, Beaujolais or grenache. As far as food is concerned, my warm weather menus- more often than not – consist…

If you haven’t already done so, it’s probably time to start planning your summer vacation. You may be considering the beach, the mountains or a cruise for your holiday this summer, and I hope you enjoy yourself whatever your destination. I am fortunate to have a partner who is copacetic with my desire to spend…

Springtime is such a weather rollercoaster ride that it is hard to decide which type of food suits the season.  And of course that determination precipitates the most important decision:  which wine to use with the meal.   Since it is looking more and more like we have seen the last of the little white flakes,…

Do you ever get in a wine funk? I don’t mean the malady that affects you when you’ve had too much of a good thing. Rather, I’m referring to the repetitive and sometimes boring patterns we fall into when selecting a wine to have with dinner. We are all creatures of habit and, when we…

When Joseph H. Diss Debar came up with our state’s slogan- Montani, Sempar, Liberi (“Mountaineers are Always Free”) in 1872, he kind of left it up to us to decide what we are “always free” to do. Taken to its literal and extreme conclusion by some mountaineers, those historic Latin words on the West Virginia…