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To most westerners the idea of drinking young red Bordeaux with Chinese food seems bizarre. Especially with delicate Cantonese dishes, the most widely available of the Chinese cuisines in the west . Clearly though the Chinese who are paying stratospheric prices for first and second growths - and presumably drinking them - think differently. They don't turn to riesling and other aromatic and off-dry whites for a reason.
Wine writer Stuart Walton casts a sceptical eye over accepted wisdom:
About the most daunting audience that anyone could face is a group of wine writers, especially if a number of those happen to specialise in food and wine matching so it was with some trepidation that I agreed to lead a tasting on wine and charcuterie in London on Monday night on the eve of the London International Wine Fair.
US-based wine writer and educator David Furer reports on an epic tasting in the homeland of American barbeque, Austin, Texas pairing a selection of international and home-grown reds with different meats.
"Isn't it time you wrote a piece on cooking with wine again?" mused my editor over lunch. "How about cooking with a bottle of first growth Bordeaux?" I gulped. "Er, I don't think most of our readers would do that." "Well, we should try it out for them." he said firmly.
I've done a fair few cheese and wine tastings in my time but none quite as challenging as the one I did at the RAW natural wine fair recently matching natural wine with unpasteurised cheese.
Quite an old article from the archives (first published in Decanter in 2007) but the advice still holds good, I reckon. Although I had a fantastic bottle of 2008 Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir with a T-bone rather than a fillet the other day. But that would taste good with anything.
Following on from my middle-eastern inspired pairing yesterday, Dubai-based blogger Sally Prosser of mycustardpie.com gives a broader overview of what to drink with middle-eastern food
Are Languedoc wines grand enough to stand up to truffles? Our new contributor Donald Edwards reports:
Few people now throw up their hands in horror at the idea of matching red wine with fish. But how many realise just how often you can pair the two?
Talk to chefs and sommeliers about the wines they like to match with food and only rarely will Cabernet Sauvignon crop up. Many are, in fact, quite openly critical of today's blockbuster styles. Even Robert Parker, when I interviewed him a few years ago, expressed a preference for simple unoaked wines from the Rhone for much of his everyday drinking. Presumably though purchasers of the new world's top cabernets are not just buying them to lie around their cellars. Somebody out there is enjoying them - but with what?
We Brits have always had a reputation for liking our wines old and our game high but times have changed. Today the key factor in matching game tends to be not how 'gamey' it is but how it's cooked and what is served with it.
Our roving gastronome Lucy Bridgers puts Portuguese wine through its paces with a succession of small plates from the inventive Nuno Mendes.
Blogger Denise Medrano of The Wine Sleuth braces herself for a lunch featuring classic French dishes and Australian wine. Was she convinced? Read on . . .
Despite the growing concern about alcohol levels in wine many reds still clock in at 14.5% or more, a level at which they can become an unbalanced pairing for traditional European food. Many traditionalist would say that they are therefore not 'food wines' but as with other types of wine it depends how well they're made and whether overall the wine is in balance. Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe for example rarely hits the shelves at under 14% but wears its alcohol lightly.
There's still a bit of resistance to drinking red wine with fish, let alone with a white fish like cod but last week I had the perfect dish to combine with a good red burgundy.
Signe Johansen recently competed in - and won - a food bloggers challenge to come up with the perfect dish for a Casillero del Diablo Chilean Cabernet. Here's how she went about it. (You can find the recipe for the winning dish, Pigeon breast and chocolate mole with redcurrants and parmesan mash here.)
Last night we had a fun five course wine and food matching dinner at Rockfish Grill in Bristol which showed the range of wines you can match with fish. Here's a few thoughts about how we approached it for those of you who are organising a similar event.
Although there's still plenty of the rich, lush style of Shiraz we've come to associate with Australia there's more than one style as I discovered on my recent trip. If you like more restrained, even funky syrahs, Australian producers can deliver. Unsurprisingly many of them are organic or biodynamic and made with a minimum of sulphur. Most are from cooler vineyards. Take your pick . . .
The Bordeaux wine region produces a multitude of top class red wines that these days tend to be blends of four main grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Vegetarians often get overlooked at this time of year so if you're vegetarian yourself or cooking for one here are some perfect pairings for some delicious festive recipes from the web.
Although I make my living writing about how food can enhance wine - and vice versa - I would never want to be dogmatic about it and freely admit that there are occasions when it matters less than others.
Food and wine writer Marc Millon recounts a memorable celebration of the new vintage last week with his Piemontese winemaker friends
I always think it's misleading to describe pork as a 'white meat'. Strictly that's accurate, I suppose, but 'whiteness' somehow seems to suggest lack of flavour. Although that's still true of much mass-produced pork there's far more rare breed pork around these days which has a great deal of character.
Many of us are familiar with Lebanon's rich culinary heritage, courtesy of the Lebanese diaspora and food writers such as Claudia Roden and Anissa Helou. Yet the prevalence of popular Lebanese dishes such as tabbouleh and hummous in our supermarkets is not yet matched by Lebanese wines despite a long history of grape cultivation dating back to the Phoenicians.
This is the perfect time of year for buying oranges and lemons but what effect do they have on the recipes you're making? Quite a marked one, if truth be told. Lemons in particular have a high level of acidity which will make any wine you drink with them taste sweeter. If that's counterbalanced in the recipe by sugar as in a lemon tart or lemon meringue pie, for example, the result is a dish that's really quite hard to match.
The answer most people would give to the question 'should you use wine to make cocktails?' is 'Why ever not?" Yet there is a general feeling, of which I must confess I'm occasionally guilty, that it's a waste of a wine that may be perfectly well balanced in itself.
After the tradition-bound cooking of the Christmas period (from which the family will never let you deviate . . .) it's good to branch out a bit with your New Year's Eve meal and also pick some dishes that will allow you to drink some serious wines. Note you need to start the beef two days in advance.
This month I asked my fellow Tweeters to tackle the subject of wine with asparagus - supposed to be a tricky combination, but as @cuvee_corner put it "Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the difficulty." (It isn't just you. There are plenty of options!)
It's true that lamb is one of the most wine-friendly of meats, as at home with red Bordeaux and Rioja as it is with the more fruit driven varietals from the new world. But if you're looking for a spot-on match it's worth thinking just how - and for how long - you're going to cook it.
London's most luxurious wine shop by far Hedonism looks as if it's the kind of place you'd need to take out a mortgage to buy a case. Fortunately appearances deceive . . .
The last two days have been quite, quite beautiful, starting mistily, basking midday in an unseasonally warm sun and finishing with an extended dusk that announces that spring is finally here. I immediately want to eat lighter meals: the new season's vegetables are not quite in yet but I can at least plan for summer and that means a spring clean of the cellar, pushing the full bodied reds to the back and assessing what whites, lighter reds and rosés I still have lurking in the racks.
A recent trip to Beijing and Shanghai opened my eyes anew to the possibilities involved in drinking wine with Chinese food. Many of the conclusions we have painstakingly arrived at in the west turn out to be less obvious when tried out in situ.
With Chinese new year coming up this weekend you may be planning a trip to a Chinese restaurant or planning a Chinese meal at home. But which wine to serve?
If you haven't yet worked out what to drink on Thursday (February 14th, if you need reminding!) here are a few suggestions to match popular Valentine's Day foods.
There's no tradition of wine & food pairing in Georgia because, "we're permanently in the process of eating and drinking, so everyone is continuously matching for themselves," firmly declared Georgia's 'wine queen', Tina Kezeli, my host for a week's tour of eastern Georgia's Kakheti wine region. Georgian meals are lavish affairs with tables laden with dishes appearing in regular sequence but without regard for timing or harmonious wine pairing. Some guidance is needed.
A report on the fascinating food and wine matching workshop that was held at the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon last month which showed that you can find a pinot pairing for almost any kind of lamb dish.
Texture is one of the few restaurants to showcase a sommelier, the star in this instance being Xavier Rousset who used to work at The Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. His two year partnership at Texture with his former colleague Agnar Sverrisson has just been acknowledged with a Michelin star. I've reviewed it for Decanter here but the pairings were so exceptional I thought I'd go into more detail about them.
As it's both Bonfire Night and British Sausage Week this week there's a fair chance that you'll be eating bangers of some kind, so what's the best pairing? As always it depends on the sausage but I personally find that beer and cider are often just as good partners as wine.
If you think of the ingredients that show off a great wine mushrooms would have to be near the top of the list. Possessed of the sexy ingredient umami - the intensely savoury taste identified by the Japanese, they flatter and act as the perfect foil for wines as disparate as vintage Champagne, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
While I can usually find a great match for an individual cheese or for a careful selection it's always a struggle to find a wine - particularly a red - that will take on all-comers. But I was reminded this weekend just how good a candidate mature Zinfandel is for this job. We found a bin end of Ridge's Geyserville 2000 on the wine list of one of our favourite local restaurants at such a good price that we couldn't resist it.
After my recent visit to the Jura I've rethought my ideas about which wines make the best wine pairings for Comté cheese.
To celebrate our unseasonal Indian summer here's a barbecue with a difference from my book Food, Wine and Friends. The centrepiece is a spiced, butterflied leg of lamb served with a delicious Turkish-style bulghur wheat salad called Kisir. Finish with grilled nectarines or, if you prefer to have your dessert prepared ahead, some refreshing wine jellies.
In our final extract from Cape Wine Braai Masters we feature a recipe intended for Gemsbok from Michael Bucholz, winemaker for the Obikwa range but as antelope are a bit thin on the ground in the UK I've adapted it for beef fillet.
The peaches are so fabulous here in Arles, so gorged with sweet, ripe juice that we're eating them almost daily. One great way to serve them which I was reminded about the other night when we dined at a local restaurant, Le Corazon is with red wine - just as good as the better-known pears in red wine.
The other evening I had an interesting session with a few food bloggers matching Davidstow cheddar for which I'd been asked to come up with some drink pairings*. My task was to talk about the wine. The company's Head Grader Mark Pitts-Tucker brought along a couple of Cornish ales - Sharp's Doombar and St Austell Tribute.
Roast beef has the virtue of being one of the most uncomplicated dishes to match with wine. You can really drink any medium- to full-bodied red you enjoy. There are a couple of points to bear in mind, however, which might affect the style of bottle you choose.
I've thought for a while that Scandinavian food is on the way up so am not surprised to find another new cookbook on the subject from Trina Hahnemann who Telegraph cookery writer Xanthe Clay dubs 'Denmark's answer to Nigella' in the paper today.
Some of the best meals - and the best wine pairings - come about without a great deal of forethought. Like the pasta I threw together last week in France from storecupboard ingredients then accompanied with a cracking bottle of inexpensive Tuscan red we'd just bought from a winemaker at a natural wine fair. Yes, Italian wine. In France! Who'd have thought it?
The weather has been so absurdly autumnal this week that I cooked a substantial stew for friends on Saturday night, an intensely flavoured braise of beef short ribs (or pot au feu as our local butcher describes them) with plenty of lush, red wine (a Valdivieso Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maipo Valley in Chile which is part of the Waitrose own label range).
People in the wine trade often talk about 'food friendly wines', a term so vague you might wonder what on earth it means. Surely all wines are designed to go with food? Is it supposed to be a criticism or a compliment?
I was interested to read in the Telegraph this weekend that Ken Hom is planning to move from his French base in Cahors to spend more time in Italy and Thailand.
You know how difficult it is to find a good wine and cheese match? Well here are five I've recently tasted that hit the spot perfectly. Four were at a tasting at the recent Bristol Wine Fair that was conducted by the food and wine writer Andrea Leeman. The other was a serendipitous one I came across the other night when we were eating with friends.
Haggis may be traditional fare for Burns' Night but let's face it, it's not everyone's cup of tea. So here's a Scottish inspired menu that I suspect you'll probably enjoy rather more (unless you're born and bred Scots, of course...)
Like salt, pepper has a pronounced effect on wine, often making reds taste softer and lusher than they otherwise would. Unlike salt though, you also find peppery flavours in wines such as Northern Rhône Syrah and Austrian Grüner Veltliner.
The first thing to bear in mind about Thanksgiving - and for that matter Christmas - is that it's as much about mood as food. Who you're inviting, what age they are and how big your party is are factors every bit as important as what you're eating. I say this particularly because the main Thanksgiving meal and the meals around it are hard ones to match: what you need is a wine that is going to cope with a whole battery of delicious flavours.
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about ingredients that cause problems for wine and have come to the conclusion that lemon is one of the major culprits. Of course we add lemon to many things for a subtle lift - I'm talking about recipes where lemoniness (if there is such a word) is the essence of the dish.
Last night I went back to The Greenhouse for the first time since its revamp, for dinner with its owner Marlon Abela and his head wine buyer Jean-Marc Heurlière.
Looking at the recipes online for Thanksgiving turkeys, stuffings and sides they're very much sweeter (and more imaginative) than the typical UK Christmas turkey. They're often brined, glazed or spiced (or all three), sometimes deep-fried and often accompanied by cornbread-based stuffings and sweet-tasting vegetables like sweet potatoes and squash.
I've written before about pairing wine with Chinese food - and so have some of my contributors but here's a slightly different way of going about it that may help you decide which bottle to choose and make your pairings more successful. It involves deciding which flavours are predominant in a dish or selection of dishes.
Tuna's a versatile summer ingredient that you can use in salads or on the barbecue. Quick and easy to cook, like salmon a conductor of many different flavours. It's also a meaty fish which adapts just as well to a red and a rosé as to a white.
Artichokes have the reputation of being a wine-killer but as with most of these diktats the problem is over-played. True, artichokes can make even dry whites taste oddly sweet but that doesn't account for the different ways in which they are cooked and how they are served.
This is possibly the most off-the-wall pairing I encountered on my recent Chilean trip and for that reason the most exciting - both on account of the food and the wine.
I've never totally bought into the idea but a recent wine and chocolate tasting put on by Australian Wine at Australia House in London went halfway to convincing me.
Few things make up for this time of year. In the UK it's relentlessly wet, grey and occasionally blustery. Time to head for the kitchen and knock up a rich beef stew or casserole and leave it simmering for hours.
It's a lean weekend for menus to match in the national press so I've picked Thomasina Miers' favourite childhood recipe - and one of mine - from the Times for my weekend pairing.
Although not the problem they're generally made out to be tomatoes are one of the vegetables that do have an influence on a wine pairing. Being quite acidic, especially when dressed with a vinaigrette, you want a wine that has a good level of acid too - and not too much, if any, oak.
This week is National Pie Week in the UK - not that we Brits need much encouragement to eat pies. It's also been seized on by an enterprising PR agency as an opportunity to explore wine and pie pairing but to be honest I'm not convinced that beer isn't the better drink - with the majority of British pies at least.
Whenever anyone talks about foods that are difficult to match with wine asparagus always comes up but as I've always felt the problem is overstated. Just like any other ingredient it depends how you cook and serve it and how many other ingredients there are on the plate.
With four days in Edinburgh and three at the Ballymaloe Food & Drink Litfest in Co Cork this weekend I've been overwhelmed with good food and drink matches but as I haven't singled out a dessert for a while I'm making Tom Kitchin's Rhubarb cheesecake my hero dish this week.
It was hard to pick just one pairing from the stellar meal I had at Marcus Wareing in London last week but this combination of robustly cooked John Dory and 2005 Nuits-St-Georges from Domaine Daniel Rion was the most interesting, underlining that red wine can be just as good a partner for white fish as for meatier fish like tuna.
A muggy evening in mid-July might seem an odd occasion to focus on wine and game matching but there were two reasons for last night's Louis Jadot game dinner and the Westminster Kingsway catering college. One is that they hoped to engage the attention of consumer magazines who work 4-6 months ahead in terms of feature planning and the second is that the Game-to-Eat campaign is trying to encourage us all to think of eating game year round.
Natasha Hughes re-orders her hit list of wine matches for pinot following her visit to the International Pinot Noir Celebration.
There was a time, about 10 years ago, when I wrote a lot about Merlot which was widely regarded as wine world's alternative to Chardonnay - an easy drinking red wine that went with almost any meal.
I'm not quite sure whether it's a blessing or a curse to be able to access the English papers so easily on-line these days. It makes it hard to resist the temptation to have a peek and therefore harder to cut off.
Ollie Couillaud's inaugural wine dinner at The Lawn Bistro in Wimbledon, west London yesterday was a masterclass in how to get it right.
While summer isn't a time one feels drawn to hearty stews (except possibly an English summer) Moroccan tagines are a different matter. Exotic and aromatic, they somehow suit the heat and not being particularly spicy are relatively simple to match with wine.
As you might imagine it doesn't make any difference what shape of pasta you're dealing with, what counts with wine is the flavour of the sauce. There are too many to mention, but here are the main types you're likely to come across.
For the last couple of weeks The Telegraph has been running recipes from two of my favourite chefs, Sam and Sam Clark of Moro, the iconic Moorish recipe in Exmouth Market in London that I discover, to my amazement, is now 11 years old. Sam (the husband) is very into his wines, particularly sherry, so I'm suggesting Spanish wines for the pairings.
We're in Arles this week for our annual visit to the Rencontres Arles, the fabulous photography festival that takes over the entire town. Since we're with our youngest son, culinary exploration has to alternate with visits to his favourite pizza and sandwich joints which is how we ended up last night at a basic but brilliant pizzeria in the Trinquetaille on the other side of the Rhône.
The recent lunch hosted by Alfred Tesseron of Château Pontet-Canet at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester revealed the extraordinary versatility of red Bordeaux and how it can be served right through a meal.
I was reminded about my trip to Priorat almost exactly two years ago by my recent visit to the Roussillon which has a similar terroir. And I think the wines would go with similar kinds of food. These were my suggested pairings at the time . . .
With Wimbledon kicking off this week, I'm sure you'll be enjoying a bowlful or two of strawberries. But what to drink with them? The classic Wimbledon pairing of champagne is to my mind too dry unless the champagne is demi-sec but there are plenty of other possibilities depending on how you serve your berries.
It might seem odd to go to New York City to taste cheese but it's home some of the most exciting stores and tasting programmes in the cheese world. One of the key figures is Max McCalman of Artisanal Cheese, author of several excellent cheese books including the recently published Mastering Cheese: lessons for connoisseurship from a Maitre Fromager.
We Brits don't have a long tradition of washed-rind cheeses but we have a true champion in the aptly named Stinking Bishop, which shot to worldwide fame when it was featured in the film Wallace and Gromit and the Were-Rabbit. But can any wine (or other drink) stand up to it? Read on . . .
If you're a bit hesitant about the idea of matching fish and red wine you might automatically think of pairing paella with a white wine. But I think it goes just as well with a rosé or a red.
Sunday marked not only the start of the Chinese New Year but the Vietnamese New Year celebrations too - known as Tet. As in China there are certain foods which are traditional to the occasion such as pickled vegetables and candied fruits, none of which are particularly wine-friendly but in general I find Vietnamese food, with its milder heat and fragrant herbal flavours easier to match than Thai (although I haven't had such extensive experience of doing so).
And by paté I'm thinking of rough country patés and terrines like a paté de campagne rather than fish patés or vegetarian patés which I'll tackle separately. The sort that you might take on a picnic or kick off a classically French meal - particularly on le quartorze juillet. Happy Bastille Day!
Last night was my first experience of Rijsttafel - the Indonesian speciality that's widely available in Amsterdam. Translated literally as 'rice table', it's an elaborate array of curries, salads and pickles which present a tough challenge for any wine.
With Hallowe'en just over a week away here's a sophisticated supper for those of you who don't have to go out trick or treating . . .
Lucy Bridgers reports on an elegant dinner matching different vintages of Domaine de l'Arlot burgundy with a seasonal spring menu
An hour and a half on matching fine wine and chocolate and every pairing a winner? Impossible I would have said. But in the experienced hands of Roberto Bava, not only a winemaker but the President of the Italian chocolate society, the Compagnia del Ciccolatto, the tasting ran as smoothly as clockwork.
Since goats cheese and Sauvignon Blanc are such a great match it might seem redundant to think of anything else but despite its reputation for being . . . well . . . goaty, goats cheese is easy to pair with other wines.
Aubergine - or eggplant as it's called in the US - doesn't have a strong flavour of its own but tends to enrich any dish in which it's included especially when baked with tomatoes and cheese. The best wine pairing I think is a hearty dry red with some acidity unless you're serving it cold as in a baba ganoush or spicy aubergine salad.
You'll always find people argue about shepherd's pie but in my view it should be made with lamb rather than beef (that's cottage pie) and with very little, if any tomato - apart from maybe a dash of ketchup for sweetness.
One of the welcome reminders of this long hot summer (in the Languedoc at least) is just how well dry wines go with fresh fruit. I've been happily drinking whites, ross and even reds with fruit such as peaches, apricots, melons and figs. Sweet wines, of course, go well with all of these but sometimes sweet wines seem too intense, particularly if, like me, you don't have a very sweet tooth.
You may well know what you're going to drink with the turkey by now but here are some ideas for what to match with your Christmas starters, paired with recipes from some of Britain's favourite chefs and cookery writers.
When I'm not writing about food and wine matching I'm writing a book - and a blog - about budget eating called The Frugal Cook. So this week's match is a chance discovery with a scratch supper I knocked up last night (for which you can find the recipe on the blog)
Frankly almost any full-bodied red will work with a roast meat like venison but I'm particularly excited about the new breed of modern Spanish reds that are appearing on the shelves.
If you're used to choosing wine - or other drinks - to match with meat or fish you may be flummoxed when it comes to chosing one for vegetarian friends. But as I explain in my Guardian column today it's a question of finding out how the wine is made - and in particular whether any animal-based products have been used in the fining process.
An irresistible dinner invitation came my way a few weeks ago, to attend a game dinner and tasting of René Rostaing's Côte Rôties at Emanuel College, Cambridge. Cambridge colleges are famous for their wine cellars but these wines came from the personal wine cellar of its 'wine steward' Dr Jonathan Aldred, the fortunate fellow (in both senses of the word) who buys all the wine for the college.
Another interesting insight on pairing red wine and fish in Tuscany this week. We were served lightly salted cod with a rich tomato and pepper stew called ciambotta at Tenuta Argentiera which proved a perfect match for the mature 2004 vintage.
Last night we opened a bottle of 2005 Nugan Estate McLaren Parish Vineyard Shiraz - a typically big lush Aussie red at a hefty 15% ABV.
Fennel is one of the handful of vegetables that can influence a main course pairing - almost always for the better. Its aniseed flavour seems to have a pronounced affinity with many wines, especially whites. Here are some suggested matches with recipes that two British chefs have published this weekend - Gordon Ramsay in the Times and Skye Gyngell in the Independent on Sunday.
The sharp-eyed among you will notice that my recommendations have changed since I posted this article earlier today. I've revised my opinion since retasting Cornish Blue which I found in my local deli - Arch House Deli.
Yesterday we had the family round for lunch and served a 2002 Douro red from Portugal with the main course of spice-crusted roast lamb with garlic and rosemary, roast potatoes (my youngest son managed to put away 15 but remains, annoyingly, as skinny as a rake) and in-season purple sprouting broccoli.
The gorgeous summery weather we've been having requires a dramatic change in mindset from the almost wintry food we've been eating for the last couple of months so here's a simple meal for 4 that was inspired by a trip to Greece a couple of years ago.
As you walk through the door of Al Pompiere in Verona you could easily be back in the '70s. A timbered ceiling, checked table cloths, walls lined with pictures of guests through the ages, it's every inch the traditional trat. In one corner where hams line the shelves and hang from the ceiling an elderly chef in a toque is slicing ham and other salumi to order with a large, impressively flashy machine. If you think it's old-fashioned though take a look at their website - the retro feel is deliberate but they're linked to all the social media.
If you haven't yet decided how to cook your Thanksgiving turkey try this fabulous Italian stuffing from ex-pat American food and wine writer Brian St Pierre.
It's the time of year to look back and review the best food and wine matches of 2011. Some were comfortingly familiar, some a total surprise to me. What they had in common was that the combination was more than the sum of the parts. The drink - in most cases wine - made the food taste more delicious, the food just made the wine sing. I hope you enjoy something similar in 2012.
Should it be wine or beer - or even a cocktail? Last year I asked the Twitter community what their favourite barbecue bevvy was and this is what they came up with . . .
Like other dishes the perfect wine match for risotto depends on the flavourings for the risotto rather than the rice itself - the lighter the dish, the ligher and fresher the wine.
If you've decided to serve goose rather than turkey this Christmas you've already opted to be adventurous. So you could arguably be adventurous about your choice of drink too.
With the Olympics in full swing I guess we'll all be spending a fair amount of time in front of the TV eating takeaway pizza.You may not have given much thought to the ideal match but here's what I suggest:
Of all the festivities round this time of year Hallowe'en, with its ghouls and pumpkins, is definitely the most kitsch so if you're inviting a few friends round to celebrate it's a fun to theme the drinks.
Some unusual steak recipes from Jason Atherton (then of Maze, now of Pollen Street Social) that prove you don't always need to drink red with beef.
The widely held belief that wine doesn't pair with curry has largely been dispelled with the new and more subtly spiced curries on the market. But what of really hot curries like a Vindaloo?
There's one wine that's invariably recommended as a pairing for duck and that is Pinot Noir but of course duck, like any other meat, can be cooked in different ways. How does that affect the match?
Cuttlefish is a pain to prepare as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall points out in the Guardian today but it is particularly delicious to eat. It's often partnered with robust flavours so you need to think in terms of equally intense flavoured wines.
I've been in Paris for the last few days so this week's pairing had to be from here. There are so many possibilities but as I haven't written about a meat match for a while I'm going to pick the braised beef cheek and vegetables we had with a quirky wine called KM31 from the Roussillon.
Did I want to go on a truffle trip to Spain at the end of January? Balmy Barbados seemed like a better option but since that wasn't on the cards and the enquiry came from an old friend I said yes. The 2 day visit - the annual Viñas del Vero 'Days of Wine and Truffles' in Somontano would include an outdoor picnic in the foothills of the Pyrenees (eek), a truffle hunt and - the clincher - a multi-course truffle menu by one of the region's most talented chefs followed by a gastronomic brunch. "Bring the Gaviscon". my friend sagely advised.
The other night I was lucky enough to go out with a wineloving friend of mine and his wife who brought along a bottle of Château Palmer 1990 with them. It was a lovely wine but, as any 20 year old vintage would be, quite delicate so immediately created the dilemma of what to eat.
It might seem bizarre turning to an American cookbook for a classic French recipe but this version from the Balthazar Cookbook is hard to beat.
A fair bit gets written - including by yours truly - about pairing wine with turkey but what type of drinks go best with the Christmas ham?
Before we finally plunge into winter here's a late autumn supper menu from my book Food, Wine and Friends that combines the best of autumn's produce with a couple of convenience products. Ready rolled pastry has made it wonderfully easy to knock up a quick, impressive tart while a simple dessert of grilled fruit dresses up a bought carton of ice cream. The soup can even be made ahead and frozen if you like.
Tomatoes are generally held to be a problem for wine but as Jane McQuitty robustly puts it in The Times today - nonsense!
Unusually for this mini-series on British cheeses, I've had a recent chance to taste through a range of wines and beers with Cheshire - Appleby's Cheshire to be exact - so the hits and misses are fresh in my mind. As you probably know it's a British territorial cheese with a crumbly texture and mellow flavour but quite a firm bite.
Roast chicken. Possibly everyone's favourite Sunday roast. Certainly the childrens' though they're not going to be wondering which wine to pair with it.( I hope! I can recommend apple juice for non-drinkers.)
The perfect match for lamb is red wine, right? Well, mostly but not always as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipes in the Guardian this weekend and my own recent experience have demonstrated
The book I've been looking forward to most so far this year has just started being serialised in the Guardian today. It's by Yotam Ottolenghi who founded two exceptional London restaurants and is simply called Ottolenghi: the Cookbook. l love Ottolenghi's food - it's so generous and big-flavoured, piled high on bright, colourful platters - you can't fail to be tempted by it. It also lends itself perfectly to entertaining for large numbers at home.
As the old saying goes, it's a small world. I was already booked in for a Pegasus Bay wine dinner in London when I ran into their winemakers, Matt Donaldson and Lynette Hudson last week on my trip to Oregon - not once but twice. So they felt like old friends by the time I caught up with them again at Providores where chef Christian Hossack (Peter Gordon was away) came up with some really well thought out pairings.
New Zealand cookery writer Lauraine Jacobs reports on the Pinot Noir '07 conference in Wellington, including a gourmet sausage tasting
Most of the pairings in this weekly slot are chosen for the way they flatter food but here's one that's designed to show off a very special wine: a 2010 Argentinian Pinot Noir called Chacra Cinquenta Cinca or Chacra 55.
It's been so busy the last few weeks that good pairings have been coming thick and fast but this was a great match I enjoyed at an offbeat new occasional restaurant which was launched by food and wine writer Marc Millon in Topsham, Devon the other day. (He's also contributed a couple of pieces to this site including this wonderful piece about Bagna Cauda)
Cheese and wine is a notorious minefield but is it any easier when the cheese is cooked? See my suggestions to match Mark Hix's delicious recipes in the Independent today:
Scallops are normally a sure-fire match for chardonnay so it was quite a challenge to think of some alternatives for Skye Gyngell's inventive recipes in the Independent on Sunday today.
People occasionally ask me my favourite cheese - an impossible question but Vacherin Mont d'Or is certainly up there in the top 5.
If you were eating it entirely on its own roast turkey would be one of the easiest ingredients in the world to match. You could drink your favourite white, red, ros or even sparkling wine with it and it would work fine.
A really robust pasta dish from my book Cooking with Wine - perfect for cold weather eating. The wine gives a richer, more warming flavour than the usual tomato-based sauce.
Today is the third International Grenache Day, a celebration of a grape which is (often anonymously) responsible for some of the most generous and appealing reds in the wine world.
With the Thai New Year celebrations coming up you may well be planning to eat in a Thai restaurant or host a Thai meal at home. But which drinks are the best to serve?
Most of this past week has been spent in Paris where almost every wine match is a good one. There's been a lot of Beaujolais - and other Gamay - drinking and a fair amount of crisp dry whites such as Aligoté - but the pairing I'm going to pick is a Syrah I didn't know with a stonking great plateful of braised rabbit at the legendary Baratin.
We may have got rid of the old convention of white wine with fish and red wine with meat but you'd still expect to drink a light wine with a starter and a more robust wine with your main course, non? Well not when it's tea-smoked duck as I discovered at a great meal at one of our local Bristol restaurants, Riverstation in Bristol last week.
Sometimes you get in a rut with a particular food and wine combination - maybe on a 'if it ain't broke, why fix it? basis. Such is the case for me with tapas which I tend to recommend pairing with something Spanish - usually manzanilla sherry or - depending on the amount of seafood - a crisp Rueda, dry Spanish rosado or a young Rioja or similar Spanish red.
We've been down in the Languedoc for the past week, revisiting some of the winemakers we haven't seen for a while. They included Domaine de l'Arjolle, one of the first wineries we bought from when we bought a holiday home down here in the early 1990s.
Few these days dispute that red wine goes with fish - it's just a question of which wine and how the fish is cooked. Most would accept 'meaty' steak lookalikes like grilled or spiced tuna or salmon work with Pinot Noir but would hesitate to take it much further than that but last week I found a couple of surprisingly good fish matches at one of my favourite new wine bars 28-50.
Sometimes I wonder when we get to drink our best wines, food has become so fiddly and complicated so it's a welcome relief to see a recipe like Rowley Leigh's in the FT this weekend for a simply roast duck with peas.
Spaghetti carbonara - spaghetti with a creamy bacon and egg sauce - is one of my all-time favourite pasta dishes but what's the best wine pairing for it?
Summer (or what passes for it) is the perfect time of year to eat crab so why not try out your wine pairing skills and work out which wines you'd match with these eight different crab dishes. My own suggestions below . . .
Every so often you come across a great little recipe than does wonders for almost any wine you pair with it. And so it is with mushroom 'caviar', a regular offering from the takeaway section of my favourite local restaurant Culinaria. Basically it's a mushroom pâté but so reduced and wickedly intense it's like pure essence of mushroom. Except for the perfect counterpoint - a tiny touch of tarragon.
This menu was created as part of a series of pieces I wrote for Sainsbury's magazine. The idea was to invite your friends round for a wine tasting then all have a slap-up meal afterwards. This meal was based on a tasting of South American reds from Argentina and Chile but it would be just as fun to base it round Malbec (Malbec being the perfect wine for a steak).
Sometimes you go to a wine dinner with some trepidation wondering if the wine will stand up to the food but I was pretty optimistic that Domaine Long-Depaquit's Chablis would survive at Nobu (the original Metropolitan hotel restaurant in London, not LA, sadly!)
I've always had a bit of a problem finding cheese matches for claret. Cheddar is often suggested but I find mature versions have too much 'bite. Stilton slays it and so do most washed rind cheeses, oozy Camemberts and Bries. The most successful match I've found so far is Mimolette so maybe it was auto-suggestion at work when I tasted a deep orange Red Leicester at The Fine Cheese Co's Cheese Fair in Bath at the weekend and immediately thought of red Bordeaux.
Not a question I normally have to trouble my head about, I admit but which was prompted by an extraordinary wine dinner I went to last week at The Don in St Swithin's Lane.
Turkish food is not traditionally accompanied by wine. And although the Turks do have a wine industry not much of it makes its way over here. But here are some thoughts on possible pairings for Mark Hix's Turkish inspired recipes in the Independent this weekend"
Being Easter it's not surprising that there's a focus on chocolate in the press today though I'm not sure how many of us would be bold enough to serve venison with chocolate sauce to our nearest and dearest as Mark Hix has done in the Independent today.
A fabulously summery recipe from the very appealing Great British Farmhouse Cookbook. I can't think of a better recipe to serve this sunny weekend.
I've just had a sneak preview of a very lush new B & B Langford Fivehead which opens next week (March 1st) in the Somerset Levels just outside Taunton. The building dates back to 1453 and is owned and run by former BBC Good Food editor Orlando Murrin and his partner Peter Steggall
The highlight of last week was my trip to Priorat so this week's pairing has to be one of the wines I tasted. Oddly it wasn't one of the wines I enjoyed most although it was in the upper echelons of what the region has to offer : a Vall Llach 2004, a blend of 65% Cariñena (old vine Carignan), 20% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.
You might be surprised to know that red wine isn't the first pairing I think of with steak tartare, which for those of you who haven't tried it is chopped raw beef flavoured with punchy seasonings such as capers, parsley and hot pepper sauce. I actually think it pairs really well with sparkling wine, especially Champagne but last week I was down in the Languedoc and that didn't really seem appropriate.
One of the pleasures of the huge clearing and putting away operation at our new French home is the discovery of forgotten bottles. The other day it was a Marcillac from Domaine Laurens which went incredibly well with that night's supper of seared calves' liver.
If anyone still needs convincing about the virtues of food and wine matching Mark Hix's fresh seasonal recipes in The Independent today should convince them. Even the 'drink what you like with the food you like' brigade would have to admit that a voluptuous Meursault or oak-aged white Bordeaux would totally overwhelm the flavours of raw food.
Mark Hix may have been knocking back the tequila on his recent trip to Mexico but if you're not made of such stern stuff try my alternative suggestions for his Mexican-inspired recipes in the Independent today.
When I read Mark Hix recipes in The Independent today they were so challenging that I nearly gave up but as everyone else seems to be writing about asparagus today and I've done a lot on asparagus recently there was no other option . . .
If you've been following the new alternative lifestyle programme Château Monty on Channel 4 you'll know that 'Monty' is wine writer Monty Waldin who set out to make his own biodynamic wine in the Roussillon down in the far corner of south-west France
Continuing with our series of South African Braai recipes to celebrate the World Cup, here's winemaker Paul Cluver's version of beer-can chicken made with apple juice rather than beer.
An elegant main course recipe* from one of my favourite food writers Sue Lawrence's A Cook's Tour of Scotland that would be a great option for a haggis-free Burns' Night supper.
William Coetzee is the winemaker at Flagstone winery in South Africa and is reputed to be as fanatical about his braiis (barbeques) as he is about his wine.
Last night I had dinner at the Dorchester Grill Room, one of London's grander hotel restaurants which has been given an absurdly baroque makeover reminiscent of what Balmoral must have looked like in Victorian times. The team in the restaurant though are bang up to date with one of the smartest sommeliers in town, Jason McAuliffe doing an impressive double act with the talented young chef Aiden Byrne.
Whenever I see a producer is about to pair their best wine with cheese my heart sinks, particularly if the cheese is ripe and the wine red. But on this occasion - a tasting and lunch at the Quality Chop House - it worked.
If i'm asked what my favourite wine is I usually say I don't have one as there are always moments when I fancy one wine more than anything else. But Pinot Noir has to be up there, especially a glorious, hedonistic Pinot like this Domaine Lucci Wildman Pinot which is one of the most delicious wines I've tasted all year*.
It's almost impossible to pick out one pairing from last week's trip to the Lebanon but if I'm forced to it has to be a dish of wild boar with cherry sauce I ate with Habib Karam the owner of Karam winery (and - extraordinarily - the airline pilot who flew us to Beirut)
When you're roasting lamb you're almost spoilt for choice. Almost any red you enjoy will go with this most wine-friendly of dishes but my pick of Thierry Puzelat's quirky KO In Cot we Trust (2005) proved a winner
As I mentioned in my last post our last lunch of the Oregon trip was at Cristom where sales director (no less!) John D'Anna cooked us a great meal. Here's how he did it and - where I have a link to them - the recipes he used. Try it!
If you're planning a Pancake Day celebration tomorrow and haven't yet decided what to drink here are few ideas.
If your Easter roast is a ham or gammon you need a more substantial wine with it than when you serve ham as a cold cut. Which one depends on the glaze.
Of all the great food and wine pairings I experienced in Rioja last week this was the most unexpected.
Last week we spent 24 hours in Cheltenham, mainly to eat at Le Champignon Sauvage about which I'll be posting a review tomorrow. We also had lunch at a pub/bistro I'd heard good things about called the Royal Well Tavern which has this year been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand and recently picked up a glowing review from the Observer's restaurant critic, Jay Rayner
A recent lunch and discussion hosted by Masi at Heston Blumenthal's Dinner gave a revealing glimpse of what the best food pairings for amarone might be.
With the World Cup in full swing you might be thinking about cracking open a bottle of South Africa's own red, Pinotage. But what to eat with it? Here are a few ideas based on my trip earlier this year.
This week's match is a blast from the past - a visit to the historic Rules restaurant in London's Covent Garden where we tucked into the kind of food you'd have eaten 50 years ago - if not 100.
A student gathering is not the first place you'd think of finding a good wine pairing or, indeed, a drinkable wine at all but the talk I gave last week at the University of Bristol Wine Circle produced some great combinations.
About the most unlikely wine match you could imagine - a delicate fish with a 19 year old red wine - but it worked! Which shows you can always be surprised by food and wine pairing.
Epoisses has to be one of the most difficult cheeses to match, not least when it gets to the almost liquid stage shown in this photo (a stage too far IMHO)
Last week I was travelling back through France again and encountered a number of interesting matches but the one that worked best for me was in a modern bistro by the covered market in Besançon called La Table des Halles.
I recently went to a Portuguese food and wine evening in Bristol hosted by an enterprising wine merchant called Corks of Cotham. It featured the wines of a producer called Casa de Saima, the ports of Niepoort and an intriguing Barbeito Single Harvest Madeira which went exceptionally well with some classic Portuguese custard tarts.
I went to a Piemontese wine dinner last week at a local Italian restaurant in Bristol, Prosecco about which I've written before. There were some very good matches - along with a couple of off-key ones, one of which involved a faulty bottle which the wine merchant introducing the event seemed determined to disregard despite grumblings from the floor.
Friends came round the other night and I cooked one of my favourite new recipes - a chicken, lemon and olive tagine (which appears in my forthcoming book Food, Wine and Friends, she adds, unable to resist a cheap plug!). One of the reasons it's slightly different from the authentic Moroccan version is that I remove the chicken skin which makes the dish a lot lighter.
A smashing recipe from Chris and Jeff Galvin's Galvin: a Cookbook de Luxe which you could make to impress on Father's Day. It's one of those books that teaches you to cook like a Michelin-starred chef - so also a great present for any Dad who fancies himself in the kitchen.
A robust Spanish fish stew from Stevie Parle's fabulous new Dock Kitchen Cookbook. Stevie is one of the best -travelled and most original chefs in London with a well-honed magpie tendency of picking up ingredients and techniques from every country he visits. He also writes a weekly column in the Daily Telegraph.
Why has no-one had the genius idea of putting beef bourguignon into a pie before? Here's the recipe courtesy of the brilliant Ginger Pig Meat Book which I've reviewed here.
I first had this wonderful vegetable stew - a northern Spanish equivalent of a spring vegetable minestrone - in a restaurant in Pamplona and dreamed about it for several years before managing to recreate it. This version comes from winemaker Maria Martinez of Bodegas Montecillo in Rioja who I was interviewing for a feature in Decanter. We bought the ingredients together from the market in Logrono.
Frankly if you can afford white truffles (currently selling at about 2500 euros per kilo) you probably already have a substantial cellar to pick from but just so you don't in any way detract from the pleasure of eating your investment let me tell you what the Piedmontese do.
Pinot noir is one of the most versatile red wines to match with food and a great option in a restaurant when one of you is eating meat and the other fish.
As with most cheeses the ideal pairing for cheddar depends how mature it is. A mild to medium block cheddar is going to be a lot easier to match (and in most cheeselovers' eyes a lot less interesting) than a tangy cloth-bound cheddar of 18 months or more.
The other day I picked out some wines to match your Easter meals. Today here are some beer pairings. You may find family and friends resistant to the idea of putting beer on the table (though some will be secretly pleased) but stick to your guns. The more your guests see how great beer is with different types of food the more confident they'll feel about serving it to friends themselves and the less likely it is that the only beer you'll find when you go to their house is a Bud. So, here goes:
Last week's best pairing was at a fascinating meal I had at Les 110 de Taillevent in Paris which I'll be writing up in more detail so here's an off-the-wall match from last night's feast at The Unfiltered Dog - a pop up restaurant at the Real Wine Fair run by the team from Terroirs.
Another week of brilliant pairings, another tough decision to make but I'm going for this combination at Delaire restaurant in Stellenbosch because it was such a great dish.
Last night was my first in a two week trip of Australia - an informal dinner with Vasse Felix at a Chinese restaurant in Perth (Grand Palace).
A simple lunch of quiche from leftovers thrown together from the fridge turned into a feast with a glass of Claire and Fabien Chasselay's Fleurie La Chapelle des Bois, an organic Beaujolais from the excellent 2009 vintage.
My match of the week this week was a toss-up between roast duck and Egri Bikavér (aka Bull's Blood) and Chateau Musar and game pie but I've plumped for the former, which I tasted at Soho's legendary Gay Hussar, as the more unusual pairing.
We had a celebration dinner with old friends the other night at my favourite local restaurant Culinaria so cracked open a bottle of La Réserve de Léoville Barton 2004*, a St Julien and the second wine of Léoville Barton. It really was quite lovely - rich, plummy, velvety - at its peak but with a few more years to go. It was everything you want from red Bordeaux (unless you have bottomless pockets)
This was a wine pairing I hadn't thought of putting together before but once experienced last week at Racine it seemed supremely logical.
I spend a lot of my time trying to discourage people from drinking their favourite red wine with a cheeseboard because it's so often a disappointment but every now and again you come across a red wine and cheese combination that really works.
Now here's an unexpected match. I would be wary of pairing a Beaujolais - even a Morgon - with something as sweet as a lamb tagine with dried fruits thinking it would make the wine taste slightly sharp but the combination worked perfectly.
The other day I enjoyed a surprisingly good pairing of a beetroot soup with an English blend of Pinot Noir and Rondo from Kent winery Chapel Down at the London restaurant Roast. I say surprising a) because soup is difficult to pair and b) because the two are so similar in colour that you'd think the wine wouldn't be a sufficient contrast to the soup. In fact its fruitiness and crisp acidity (the Rondo making it taste more like a mid-weight Italian red) was just the right counterpoint to the earthy rich character of the beetroot.
It's a tribute to the sheer joie-de-vivre of the Irish that we regard St Patrick's Day with much more enthusiasm than St George's, St Andrew's or St David's Days (the patron saints for England, Scotland and Wales for those of you who aren't into your saints). So your friends are going to be more than pleased to be invited to celebrate it with you.
One of a brilliant trio of Uruguayan wines that were shown at the Wine Society's spring tasting, this rich spicy red shows that unyielding Tannat can be made positively seductive with a dash of Merlot - in fact they seem made for each other.
I'm constantly amazed at the stream of good value reds that is coming out of Spain these days. Here's another - La Copa Tempranillo 2005 from the up and coming Campo de Borja wine region which is situated in Aragon to the north west of Zaragoza. It appears to be made by a co-operative, the Cooperative de Santo Cristo de Magallon but is none the worse for that.
One of the more endearing aspects of the current British food scene is the number of festivals devoted to a single food. I'd heard of oyster festivals, crab festivals and cheese festivals but I'd never come across a scallop festival before.
You might not have wanted to pay the £20-odd a bird it costs to source grouse on the first day of the season but prices will come down over the next couple of weeks and it's a great treat for a small dinner party. If you haven't cooked grouse before try this reassuringly simple recipe from chef Stephen Markwick with whom I collaborated on his book A Well-Run Kitchen
When we talk about lasagne it's probably the meaty version that's uppermost in most people's minds but these days there are many different kinds. Here are my favourite wine pairings:
There aren't many wine pairings that form the subject of a book title but Elizabeth David's Omelette and a Glass of Wine immortalised the combination. Unlike other egg dishes wine actually does go pretty well with omelettes but should it be red or white?
One of the world's most popular cheeses Brie can be mild and slightly chalky or decadently gooey and quite strong in flavour. Try one of these top wine and other matches:
The type of artisanal cheddar I was writing about yesterday - mature, full-flavoured, unpasteurised - isn't the easiest cheese to match with wine.
Mark Hix, a great forager himself, concentrates on recipes you can make from the hedgerow this week in The Independent (now is a good time to go to his new restaurant, I suggest . . . ) so I'm thinking a little outside the box as to what to pair with them. Country wines, made with hedgerow fruits, seem the perfect answer. I don't know why we don't see more of them.
Steak and red wine sounds too obvious a pairing to highlight but sometimes it hits the spot so perfectly it's worth being reminded there's nothing better you can eat with a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (unless you're a vegetarian, obviously . . .)
It's funny how your attitude to food and wine matching changes when you visit a wine-producing area like the Languedoc which is where I've been for the past few days. You tend to drink the local wine because it's what the locals drink. It may not be the best match but it doesn't really matter, particularly at lunchtime when you want something light.
Last week's highlight without a doubt was the meal I had with my Guardian colleagues at Brawn, Ed Wilson's new restaurant in Columbia Road. As you may know it's the new City outpost of the hugely popular wine bar Terroirs with a similar natural wine list which you can read about on my natural wine blog here.
My match of the week has to include Gladstone Pinot Noir from Wairarapa in New Zealand which featured in two unexpectedly good pairings at two different restaurants.
I spent three days last week travelling through France (about which more over the next few days) so it's a tough call to decide which food and wine combination came out tops but I think it would have to be the Matthieu Cosse Cahors and the duck 'parmentier' I ate at a delightful modern bistro in Cahors called L'O à la Bouche.
Celebrations come thick and fast at this time of the year - first Burns' Night, and now Chinese New Year and Australia Day. Since both fall on the same day this year I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone (terrible expression but you know what I mean) and mark the Year of the Ox with a beef recipe matched with an Australian wine.
Last week I had lunch at my new favourite London hangout, the wine bar Terroirs which is run by a partnership including the quirky and original Caves de Pyrène. It's a place that you'll absolutely love if you're a Francophile: it feels just like a Parisien wine bar - without the surly service. The food is also cracking but as we'd resolved to kick off the new year by splitting a Vacherin Mont d'Or, as you can read on my cheese blog The Cheeselover, we didn't get a chance this time to sample chef Ed Wilson's robust bistro food.
My first Match of the Week of the New Year is a classic but none the worse for that: an award-winning South African Bordeaux blend with a slow roast leg of lamb flavoured with garlic and rosemary.
A classic match for this time of year but no less enjoyable for that.
This coming weekend sees the 16th annual festival of the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) in San Francisco. I went one year and it was an absolute blast - two great sheds filled with hundreds of enthusiasts enjoying this great belter of a red.
This typically Burgundian dish of pork with a wine, cream and mustard-based sauce is quick, easy and versatile. You could equally well use it for chicken.
We tend to get stuck in a bit of a groove when it comes to serving cheese, picking five or six and serving them on a big cheeseboard but if you're serious about trying to find a good wine match that isn't the best strategy.
The closest result so far from one of our polls was the recent question on what to drink with a roast rib of beef. Clearly imagining a classic English Sunday roast 33% of you opted for red Bordeaux with just under a quarter of you (24%) preferring a Rioja.
Given there are so many arguments about how to make a bolognese sauce it's hardly surprising there should be a difference of opinion about what to drink with spaghetti bolognese but here's what I would go for
The great thing about going to old country pubs is that they tend to have wines you can't find anywhere else - or certainly not at the price. Like the bottle of Domaine Tempier Bandol 1994 we found at the Nobody Inn in Doddiscombleigh in Devon at the weekend.
One of the tricky decisions to make when you're serving a rich, winey stew is whether to go for a wine of equal weight or a lighter medium-bodied wine as a refreshing contrast.
I know duck and Pinot is a bit of a no-brainer but this was such a great dish and such a stellar wine that it's worth revisiting. (Coupled with the fact that some of you may be having duck for Christmas.)
I'm always undecided as to whether I prefer red wine or white with roast chicken but of course it depends on the accompaniments and the time of year.
We went to a Portuguese evening at a local cafe, Tart in Bristol last week, which does a monthly supper club. The food was great, especially a main course of cozido, a substantial, saffron-laced stew of chicken, pork, chorizo and beans that would have actually made a meal in itself.
Beans are one of the great underrated aids to matching full-bodied wines as I was reminded at the weekend when we combined a dish of pork and lima beans with a fine St-Joseph.
Once the game season starts to get into full swing my husband ventures into the kitchen. Pheasant, of course, doesn't come into season until the 1st of October but our local butcher was obviously clearing out last year's stocks and we picked one up for a song.
A slightly unseasonal but absolutely delicious wine pairing from Bjorn van der Horst's much anticipated new restaurant Eastside Inn. The talented Van der Horst used to cook at the Greenhouse and then for Gordon Ramsay at La Noisette and has now branched out on his own. I'll be posting a full review in the next couple of days but this, for me, was the outstanding match of the meal, selected by sommelier Thierry Sauvanot, also ex-Ramsay.
The last few days I've been eating and drinking my way around Piedmont - the perfect time of year as the region's fabled white truffles are in season.
This party piece – a deliciously aromatic fusion of flavours – isn't a true Moroccan bastilla, but it is inspired by those I have eaten there, and less laborious to make. I serve it with a green salad – with fennel slivers and coriander and mint leaves added – and a bowl of yogurt to spoon onto your plate beside the pie. The filling can be made ahead.
This month's issue of Observer Food Monthly hasa special on TV dinners featuring celebrities talking about their favourite snacks. Very few beverages are mentioned so I thought I'd suggest a few pairings ;-)
Q Could you make a suggestion for a pan-fried flank steak with a mustard/cream sauce consisting of shallots, white wine, chicken stock, cream, and Dijon mustard?
Maybe Chinese restaurants are like buses. You don't get any new openings for a while then several come along at once. So after Bo London the other day, it's HKK, the latest project from the Hakkasan group.
Another recipe for your World Cup celebrations from the Van Loveren family. It comes from the new Wines of South Africa cookbook Cape Wine Braai Masters but you could equally well cook it with a conventional oven and grill.
The answer to that may well be 'whatever wine's left over' - if there is any, of course - but if you're looking for a wine that will match specific dishes here are a few ideas:
Asparagus, it's often said, is tough to match with wine, let alone a red, but this combination with a light, chilled Saumur Champigny at the re-opened Bell's Diner in Bristol was a perfect pairing.
One of my favourite local restaurants Flinty Red in Bristol had put a Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro on by the glass when I went for lunch last week and it reminded me how incredibly delicious and versatile it is. So much so that we went on to order a full bottle.
As a chef friend who recently took over a farm had some geese to get rid of we had goose for our main Christmas meal this year - stuffed somewhat improbably with hay (long story. Not such a good idea!)
Last week's highlight was a trip to the newly opened downstairs restaurant at Terroirs, a restaurant of which regular readers will know I'm a huge fan (along with the rest of the UK's wine-writing fraternity).
Last week I went on a flying visit to Tuscany to take part in the olive oil harvest and had the rare treat of being able to sample oil that has just been pressed. As you can see from the picture, it's an incredible colour - literally deep olive green and has the most fantastic grassy flavour.
You may be unconvinced about the wisdom of incorporating chilli into achocolate cheesecake, let alone accompanying it with Merlot but bear with me!
This pretty dish was served the other night at what is still our favourite Bristol restaurant, Culinaria, even if we now live over the other side of town. It provided everything you want from a starter - light, appealing, appetite-stimulating.
We've been down in the Languedoc for the past week and two bottles - both Syrah - have impressed me for very different reasons. One was an inexpensive but characterful Ressac Vin de Pays d'Oc Syrah which we bought from the co-op at Florensac, Vinopolis, after eating at their showcase restaurant Bistrot d'Alex which I've mentioned on the site before. The other a much classier bottle called Clos du Fou (the 2004 vintage) from a local Faugères winemaker Château des Estanilles which bore comparison with a Côte Rôtie.
The other night I went back to one of my favourite restaurants Ransome's Dock, a friendly neighbourhood restaurant in Battersea that has great food and an even more stellar wine list, put together with detailed and well-written tasting notes by chef/proprietor Martin Lam. (You can download it from the site)
A surprisingly good pairing I came across in a local Italian restaurant on Saturday night. The (admirably light) home-made gnocchi were dressed with a fresh tomato sauce with basil which I would have thought would have been overwhelmed by the firm, well-structured 13.5% Barbera the boys had ordered with it - a Ca' del Matt 2002. (For preference I'd have drunk a dry Italian white such as a Soave.) But it was spot on - even better than it was with my main course of slow roast pork belly.
Our final pre-Christmas meal at our favourite local restaurant Culinaria the other night was a real feast of winter flavours. Unusually every dish went well with the bottle we chose, a 2005 Vacquéyras Cuvée des Templiers from Le Clos des Cazaux, a wonderfully full-flavoured blend of Syrah and Grenache that was as good as many minor Châteauneuf-du-Pâpes I've tasted. A real treat.
I went to a great little bistro the other day in St-Rémy-de-Provence called - appropriately enough - Bistro Découverte. It's run by a very talented young sommelier I used to know in London called Claude Douard who worked for Marco Pierre White and Joel Rebuchon.
With the unseasonally warm weather showing no signs of a let-up it's time to revisit the classic combination of French charcuterie and Beaujolais - perfect for picnics and other outdoor eating.
Q I am going to a dinner where we take our own wine. The starter is slices of smoked pheasant with partridge pate, followed by fillet of venison then a dessert of profiteroles with lemon cream + chocolate sauce. then a savoury of rabbit and tarragon terrine. You may now realise my problem! Any suggestions?
If you want to understand what British cooking is about - not the magpie character of of modern British but the genteel English country house tradition - head for Soho where Jeremy Lee has taken up residence behind the stoves at Quo Vadis.
Following Lauraine Jacobs' report earlier this week from the Pinot Noir 07 conference in Wellington here are some more timely thoughts on pairing pinot with Asian food from another attendee Ch'ng Poh Tiong.
I always like to respond promptly if someone draws attention to a wine match that's not available on the site so thanks, Nigel B of Hong Kong for pointing out there was nothing on Brunello di Montalcino.
No Christmas would be complete without a slice of Stilton or its unpasteurised cousin Stitchelton. But what to drink with it? The usual answer is port - and that of course is classic - but here are some other drinks that make great pairings
I've been so busy catching up after my Alsace trip that I haven't had much time for new food and wine discoveries but here's one we had at Les Temps Changent in Chalons-en-Champagne, a hotel we frequently stop at to break the journey through France.
I was overwhelmed with good wine pairings last week but given that quite a few were similar to ones I've written about before I'm making this my star match.
Last week was a particularly indulgent one for dining out so it was a tough call coming up with my match of the week but I think it has to be the Côte du Boeuf I had at Racine with a stellar bottle of Ridge's 1999 Monte Bello
As is often the way Christmas wasn't a time for any startling food and wine discoveries, rather for celebrating favourite combinations but I realise I forgot to mention one pairing just before Christmas at Angelus restaurant in Lancaster Gate.
As those of you who are familiar with this site will know I've got issues about drinking red wine with cheese. It may seem an obvious partnership but all too often it seems a warring one.
Faggots, which are basically a rather gamey British meatball made with pork belly and offal, are a bit of an acquired taste along the lines of the French sausage andouillette but well made, as they are when supplied by our local butcher, they can be very tasty. They need to be accompanied by onion gravy which normally leads one in the direction of a robust ale but the other night we had them with a bottle of Mas Belles Eaux Vieux Carignan 2006 which actually worked very well.
As the weather is finally turning warmer we thought we had better clear the freezer of winter ingredients so last night my husband pot-roasted a couple of pigeons we'd picked up on the cheap. Unusually we didn't have any red wine left over so we cracked open a bottle of Torres Sangre de Toro, a sound but not overly exciting Garnacha and Cariñena-based Spanish red.
There's a distinct nip in the air this week that makes makes me suddenly feel much less like eating summery food. Last night we went round to friends and shared some absolutely awesome steak pies they'd brought back from a butcher called Murray Mitchell in St Andrews in Scotland (they will send them by mail order in the UK apparently if you ring them on 01334 474465).
Today is the official start of the grouse season. (Yes, it is the 13th but since the Glorious 12th falls on a Sunday this year they (though I haven't the faintest idea who 'They' are) decided to postpone it a day). For those of you unfamiliar with this gastronomic treat grouse is a small, wild bird that inhabits open moorland, and is much prized for its gamey flavour.
Coronation chicken has been given a new lease of life by the Diamond Jubilee celebrations but what wine - or beer - should you pair with it?
Like many popular dishes chili con carne (aka chilli con carne) has many different versions - some mild and child-friendly, others much more spicy and assertive and often a little smokey. Beer in many way seems the best option but a big hearty red will see you right too:
Pork belly has become one of the most popular main courses on restaurant menus so what should you drink with it?
If culture and 'terroir' are a basis for deciding which drinks bestmatch a particular cuisine then beer must have a strong claim to bepaired with Scandinavian food.
With Southern hemisphere wines from the 2012 vintage having been on the shelves for a few months now the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau on the third Thursday of November has become much less significant that it was but it's still fun to crack open a bottle with friends.
One of the most irritating recommendations you find on wine labels is 'Drink with chicken'. Which kind do they mean - a simply roast bird or a coq au vin? A chicken salad or a Thai chicken curry? Chicken is such a neutral meat it depends entirely on the way that it's cooked and the other flavours in the dish.
It's such a long time since I've eaten duck à l'orange that I've rather lost track of the best match for it but the vivid, joyous Gramenon Poignée de Raisins I was offered last week by the sommelier at Brasserie Chavot proved the perfect pairing.
You might think the idea of eating bacon and egg with good claret is sacrilege but bear with me.
Just as last week's match of the week was a classic - so is this week's: the main course we had at Oliver Peyton's National Gallery Café at a dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Circle of Wine Writers.
I came across this pairing at Chris and Jeff Galvin's newly opened Galvin La Chapelle in Spitalfields in the City where they have a vertical of vintages, some of which are available by the glass. As I observed in my review on decanter.com it's not a cheap option but if you've never tasted an old vintage of Hermitage la Chapelle here's a chance to do so.
Last Friday I attended the Soil Association annual Organic Awards lunch at Bordeaux Quay in Bristol. The menu was based on the winning ingredients which in the case of the main course was Langley Chase organic mutton served with chard and spelt risotto.
I'm aware that there's a Francophile bias to this site but there are recipes where I automatically turn to the New World. The spicy lamb dish I picked up the other night from my local restaurant and takeaway Culinaria is one of them - a hottish tagine-style dish of spiced lamb, aubergines, chickpeas & merguez sausage which was almost on the verge of being a curry.
The two days I spent in the Gers region of the south-west of France last week (members can see a full report here) reminded me just what a strong terroir-based match the local Tannat-based wines are with duck confit. I tried it both with a Madiran and a humbler Côtes de St-Mont which uses the same grape varieties.
If you think you automatically need to partner a fish dish with white wine think again! Meaty fish such as salmon and tuna take really well to Pinot Noir, the grape variety that the hero Miles raved about in the hit movie Sideways.
Thanks to the Argentinians, everyone associates Malbec with steak and that's a great pairing but with Malbec World Day coming up this Wednesday maybe it's time to stretch your wings and give some other dishes a try. Here are a few ideas:
I went to a very posh lunch at Fortnum & Mason last week (about which more to follow) which has to be the most festive place in London. If you're in the vicinity this week make sure you check out their Christmas decorations department on the first floor. And don't miss the spectacularly expensive crackers! (I was told the £1000 boxes had already sold out.)
We decided some time ago we were going to drink Beaujolais with our turkey in memory of the late Marcel Lapierre who very sadly died back in September. I thought his vibrant fruity 2009 Morgon would be ideal with the classic Christmas feast and so it proved to be, mirroring the tartness and fruitiness of the cranberry sauce.
Last week I was on an assignment in Tuscany for a couple of days. It was pretty hot but that didn't discourage the Tuscans from serving the kind of food they enjoy all the year round - namely substantial bean and chickpea soups.
Q I am the best man at a wedding and agreed to provide the wine for the head table. The couple is serving a soy, ginger salmon and chicken dish (i assume you get a choice). Any thoughts?
A bit of a departure with the turkey this Christmas - a magnum of Chivite Coleccion 125 from Navarra we unearthed in a cellar sort-out the other day. It's based on Tempranillo with a proportion of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon - I'm not sure what the percentages were that year - but was probably at the optimum moment for drinking - the fruit still bright but super-smooth and beautifully in balance.
Pigs and Pinot is a well established combination that is the focus of an annual celebration at Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen at the Hotel Healdsburg and after reminding myself of the combination last week at Daniel Boulud's new London outpost Bar Boulud I can see why.
My match of the week for last week has to come from the sublime WIMPS lunch I had at the Ledbury which members can read about here. It was hard to decide which the best pairing was but I think the calf's kidney and 1998 Gilles Barge Côte Rôtie just shaved it.
If you're lighting a few fireworks for the kids (or yourselves, of course . . . ) tonight and hanging round in the cold you'll need some warming food and a good chilli hits the spot perfectly
This week is British Cheese Week - and, by the looks of it, the start of autumn proper - so what better time to rustle up a macaroni cheese (or mac and cheese as they call it in the US)?
Those of you who have read my report yesterday on the 20th anniversary of Charlie Trotter's will know I've spent the last few days in Chicago eating some quite amazing food. But occasionally you need a change from all that gourmet fare and I found it in that great Chicago institution Gibsons steakhouse where they serve something called a 'Gold Coast Slider'.
If you're after an inexpensive white to take you through the summer you need look no further than this smart Gavi from Aldi which they're selling for the ridiculously low price of £4.99. £4.99! In fact I'd be hard-pushed to think of any Italian white that's better value at under a fiver.


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HOROSCOPES: Feb. 19
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — The secret to your success will be to treat life as a game, even those aspects of it that have been tough or boring. It's OK to have some fun while you're playing to win.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) — When looking for the bluebird of happiness, you shouldn't go searching outside your immediate surroundings. Staying within your domain is important, both for yourself and your circle of intimates.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) — You rarely have a difficult time knowing what to say to friends. Even though you're likely to be surrounded by a larger crowd today, you'll still find a way to charm everybody.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — Conditions in general are usually favorable for you, and today will be no exception. The only difference is that most groups you encounter will have something to do with making money. How nice!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — Your natural ability to spread some sunshine and lift the thoughts of others will contribute greatly to your popularity. You'll find that some people need a smile more than others.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Lucky you, because an effective ally who does nice things without drawing attention to it will single you out for special attention.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — You could be quite fortunate, not necessarily in the usual material ways, but in something that won't rust and can't be stolen.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — As long as you don't establish too many objectives or excessively focus on one thing, you should be able to concentrate on a meaningful project.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) — Provided you have the will to win and never underestimate the opposition, you shouldn't have any trouble bettering yourself and ousting all competitors. Keep plugging away.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) — A number of unanticipated changes could occur in an area of importance. Be flexible, keep an eye on the competition and remember to roll with the punches. Continued...
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) — Your quick wit and delightful charm are two of your best assets. Mutual benefits are likely from situations in which you can deal with others on a one-on-one basis.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — The extra funds you'll need in order to do something special will manifest as soon as the assets you've been putting away begin to appreciate.
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subset: commoncrawl


text: I just started a guild and so far i am the only one in it. I want this to be a friendly guild for anyone who wants to join. I am also going to look for 1 or 2 people to be secondary guild leaders but ultimately, everyone in the guild will have a say in what we will be doing in the guild like pvp or wvw guild events. If anyone is interested, PM me or send me a message in game kreyciaus.5638. I will be happy to answer all of your questions.


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I love both my Hello Kitty Inspired Tutu Pettis. They have Valentines embellishments on them that make them very special and unique. They are also super fluffy and girly.
Give us one tip on how you managed to create/sell/manage your store and at the same time be a busy mom?
Aimee is giving away any Tutu Petti or Tutu from her store, StrawberrieRose, or the winner can choose any four (4) zhu zhu tutus gift packages!
That's at least 12 different ways to win. This giveaway will end on Wednesday February 3rd at 11:59pm PST. Winner will be drawn by random.org and announced on this blog as well as emailed.
Remember that each comment is considered to be one entry. So if you are following this blog already, simply say "follow this blog" and your name to get additional entry to this giveaway. Each entry is assigned a # and whichever # was drawn after the giveaway ended will be the winner.
Etsymoms, if you are interested to be the next Giveaway, please contact me (Alice) at firstname.lastname@example.com for more information. Thank you and have fun!
The Winner of this giveaway is Comment #13
Marci said...
So many beauties! I love the Iceland Snow Fairy Princess Fluffy Tied Tutu Petti. I'm sure my niece would too! Thank you for the chance!
june_spirit2628 at hotmail dot com


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Andrew Schnitker is the sports director and sports anchor for WFXL and Mysouthwestga.com
ALBANY, GA -- The Westover Patriots claimed the crown of city champion with a win over Albany High Saturday at Hugh Mills Stadium.
But forgive the Patriots if they're looking ahead- a larger piece of history is waiting on Westover next week.
Trailing 7-6 in the fourth quarter, Westover rallied to pull away from their city rival, 20-7. Patriots quarterback T.J. Cromer scored on a sneak to give Westover a 13-7 lead they didn't relinquish.
Now, comes the fun part for the Patriots. Westover will host their first playoff game in school history next week in a 2012 regular season rematch. The Jonesboro Cardinals return to Hugh Mills for the first round of the GHSA playoffs.
Jonesboro defeated Westover 34-13 in week two of the regular season.


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Mar 28 |
UTC Chamber Singers auditions for Fall 2013
Auditions for the UTC Chamber Singers will take place by appointment between Monday March 25 and Thursday March 28. The short 5 minute audition will include singing "My Country 'tis of Thee", sight singing, range and ear training checks. Contact the Choral Activities office for more information or to make an audition appointment. 425-4612 or firstname.lastname@example.com. If you have any questions feel free to contact Dr. Kevin Ford the director at email@example.com. |
Mar 28 |
Stanford, Calif. |
Mar 28 |
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. |
UTC String Project
The String Project at UTC provides an opportunity for school-aged children to learn a stringed instrument at a reasonable cost. Students receive private and group instruction on their chosen instrument from qualified music interns under the supervision of an experienced string music educator. Students in grades 3-12 may apply for admission to the program. If an orchestra exists at the student's school, they must be enrolled in that group to participate in the String Project. UTC has a limited number of instruments available for rental. First Year Students: Course #: 5161 When: Mondays & Thursdays, January 14 - April 18, 2013 Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m. $50 per semester UTC: Cadek 310 Second Year and Above Students: Course #: 5162 When: Mondays & Thursdays, January 14 - April 18, 2013 Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m. $65 per semester UTC: Cadek 310 |


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College Football Stadiums
Get an up close look at some of the nation's most popular college football stadiums including Beaver Stadium, The Rose Bowl and more.
Filed under:Please forgive us, this gallery is really popular.
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College Football Weekends
These cities offer the most all-encompassing, archetypal football experience for your next weekend away.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
If you truly love a pure football event, you have to go to Enshrinement Weekend at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH.


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1,353pages on
this wiki
this wiki
vRobe262 | |
Information | |
Type | Vanity Item |
Body Slot | Shirt Slot |
Rarity | Tier 0 (White) |
Sell Value | 4 |
Crafting | |
Crafted With | 30 Silk 3 Rubies |
Crafted At | Loom |
Contents |
- The Robe is a Vanity Item that needs some time to make. This is because Rubies are uncommon gems, and 30 Silk means you will need to locate 300 Cobwebs.
- If the player is using a weapon/tool or is holding a torch/candle or placing blocks while walking or jumping, the robe animation does not work. Also, the bottom portion of the pants become visible, poking out from the side of the robe.
- If the player has angel/demon wings and is equipping a robe, when the player flies/glides with the wings the robe animation does not work.
- When you put the robe on a mannequin and put pants or greaves under it the lower part of the robe will be replaced by those pants.
Update InfoEdit
- Changed crafting station from Work Bench to Loom.
- Added to the game.


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Nov 16, 2012 | 04:20 PM | Michael Cowden
Tags Wheatland Tube, JMC Steel Group, Nova Tube, pipe prices, steel pipe, ERW, continuous weld pipe, sprinkler pipe A106 seamless pipe
CHICAGO Wheatland Tube Co. appears to have kicked off a round of steel pipe price hikes. The Sharon, Pa.-based subsidiary of based JMC Steel Group Inc., Chicago, said in a letter to customers dated Thursday that it is boosting tags on continuous weld pipe by 5 percent, sprinkler pipe by 6 percent, A106 seamless material by 5 percent and grade B electric-resistance weld (ERW) pipe by $50 per ton ($2.50....
CHICAGO Wheatland Tube Co. appears to have kicked off a round of steel pipe price hikes.
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Do you think steel mills will succeed in their efforts to stop selling at a discount to the CRU index?
June 20-21, 2013 New York
They said they would not be able to offer specific remedies from the conference call but would work with the appropriate committees of the LME to find solutions.
Daniel Twarog, Nadca


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Springfield moving on red-light cameras
SPRINGFIELD — Red-light cameras could be coming to the township in the next few months, but the program is likely to be different from public perception. With the request for proposals and prebid meeting just held, Police Chief Joseph Daly said it was a good time to bring the program into focus for residents and the thousands of motorists who use township roads.
"The intention of the program is to reduce accidents," said Daly. "Philadelphia has found a 34 percent reduction as well as a decrease of fatalities at some key locations. We are approaching this from the public safety aspect."
Springfield is, at present, the only county municipality eligible to use the program as it meets requirements of population, as well as having a police department with accreditation from the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.
The program involves installation of cameras at carefully chosen high volume and high-incident intersections and capturing those vehicles completely crossing a designated line when the signal is red. The parameters are rigid, Daly explained, and far from a "gotcha" situation. Camera sites will be posted and defined; moving through amber lights will not be penalized; tires appearing on the painted line will not result in tickets.
"When viewing the videos, we will be looking for vehicles passing through on a dead red," said Daly.
The program is not a surveillance technique. Police are prohibited from capturing faces as pictures are taken of the rear so that license plate numbers are defined. Daly said the cameras and photos are not used for investigation purposes unless there is a critical incident where information may be needed, in which case a subpoena is required.
The program is expensive to install and operate, but there will be no cost to township taxpayers. Vendors underwrite the equipment and installation, which averages about $100,000 per camera, Daly said. But the revenue from citations is substantial enough for the township to pay the monthly overhead. Any remaining revenue goes to the state to be used specifically for traffic safety and related grants. Springfield will be among the first in line for grants since it will employ the program.
An added advantage of the cameras is that all of the infractions can result in the issuance of tickets. Daly said even at intersections where police may be posted, an officer is essentially limited to following one vehicle/driver to cite. Drivers cited who question the accuracy of the camera may view videos. Daly said the payment rate of these tickets has traditionally been 90 percent or above. The citations are civil, not criminal, and there are no points issued for driving records.
Police have studied department records from the past five years and identified four intersections. The locations, number of accidents and percentages with injuries are: State and Springfield roads, 262 accidents, 8 percent with injuries; State Road and Collins Drive (at Marple Crossroads Shopping Center), 219, 13.2 percent; Baltimore Pike and Woodland Avenue, 167, 11.4 percent; and Sproul Road and Woodland Avenue, 102, 13.7 percent.
Daly said the successful vendor will perform an independent study of those intersections, and locations must be also be approved by PennDOT. Continued...
The prebid meeting was attended by three vendors, American Traffic Solution, Redflex and Gatso. These include companies pioneering the systems and employing them in major metropolitan cities. Bids are due to the township in early February. There was no specific date given for the program initiation.
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4 PhotosALEXIA CORTEZ
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- July 20, 2012
Height: 5'5"
Profession: Professional Model
Favorite Monster drink: Green Tea Rehab
Favorite Athlete: Ryan Villopoto
First Job: Burger King
Hailing from the City of Angels, Alexia Cortez is a unique sweet-and-spicy Latina model of Mexican & Mixed European/Cherokee heritage. She grew up with a street mentality but never lost touch with her insatiable inner bookworm; she became her high school valedictorian and graduated with honors from the prestigious University of Southern California with a pre-med degree. Once told she didn't have what it takes to be a model, Alexia made her modeling debut known as "Mz. Sexia" in the Lowrider car show scene in the mid 2000's and quickly gained a large following which only snowballed into bigger and better recognition over the years.
Since then, Alexia has graced the covers and pages of several major publications, has been featured on billboards, TV shows, and in music videos, was a Maxim Magazine Hometown Hotties 2010 Semifinalist, and is now proud to say she's finally achieved her long-time dream of becoming a Monster Girl!
Spent a low key day enjoying the beautiful #SouthBeach waves in #Miami rocking the custom #MonsterGirl… http://t.co/LEw6IU0Bqv
How did I do?? #imadeface http://t.co/g92MdCTmR8
Earlier today at the Miami @MonsterEnergy @DUBmagazine Show #DUBshow #MonsterGirls #MonsterEnergy… http://t.co/CDX6yOlWx1
@runalucienne, @FrenchMontana, and @AlexiaCortezLA at the #Miami @MONSTERENERGY @dubmagazine #DUBshow #MonsterEnergy… http://t.co/joCUoSazHT
I'll be at the @MonsterEnergy @DUBmagazine Show at Miami Convention Center tmrw 5/18 2-9pm signing Monster autographs with @RunaLucienne
Sooooo tired on this flight to Miami but feeling happy though!! This is my first trip to Miami!! Thank you @MonsterEnergy & dubmagazine
On the plane feeling blessed headed to Miami w/ @monsterenergy #monsterenergy @dubmagazine show… http://t.co/4Olv32RAsr
Getting ready to fly out to Miami for the first time with @MonsterEnergy for the #MonsterEnergy @DUBMAGAZINE show tomorrow :) #stoked #happy
Batgirl @msbrittanipaige and X-Men's Emma Frost in the "Heroes vs. Villains" model lounge the other… http://t.co/yO5HwV1YpO
RT @Ms_aprilg: Me and the pretty @alexiacortezla ! ❤ #ExtremeAutoFest #anaheim #ca #carshow #event #importmodel… http://t.co/TkkLECv1Ca