A Guide to Pairing graphic in green with a wine bottle

A Guide to Pairing: Champagne

Today marks Champagne Day, so what better way to celebrate than talking about Champagne pairings! A bit about Champagne: Champagne is a region, not a grape With a few exceptions, all Champagne is made from any combination of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier It can be white…

A Guide to Pairing graphic in red with a wine bottle

A Guide to Pairing: New World Pinot Noir

Today we begin our annual Big Fall Countdown wine releases, and like last year, we’re kicking it off with a beautifully delineated, resonant Oregonian Pinot Noir that harkens to the Burgundian roots in the region.  It’s also high time to begin planning for the fast approaching holiday season…

A Guide to Pairing graphic in multiple colors with a wine bottle

A Guide to Pairing: Introduction

Welcome to our newest series on the blog, A Guide to Pairing! In this series we’ll cover a number of major varietal wines and popular blends while discussing general – and some specific – pairing suggestions for foods or dishes. While the majority of folks know to pair…

Image of grape cluster on the vine at a very early stage with small green berries

Celebrating North Carolina Wine!

Amidst a busy month of state wine celebrations this month, is North Carolina Wine Month. Sticking with our theme for this year, we look at one of the lesser-known plantings in the state that helps define its regional identity: the Scuppernong grape. Did you know that the oldest…

Mid spring view of vineyard grape canopy from Southern Illinois

It’s IL Wine Month! (Part 2)

As we continue to celebrate IL Wine Month here at Cameron Hughes, we are going to brush over some of the more off the beaten path red wines you’ll find in the state’s wine programs. Earlier this month we covered the odd whites from the state, you can…

Muscadine wine grape cluster ripening on the vine

It’s Mississippi Wine Month!

Home to the Muscadine grape! Well, not officially, but by nature of the beast. What do we mean by that? Well, there’s only three vineyards in the state with listed websites (might be some mom & pop backwoods ops that don’t make the mainstream, but we can’t speak…

Southern Illinois vineyard looking down a row of vines

It’s IL Wine Month! (Part 1)

While we’ve covered different aspects of IL wine in the past couple of years, this year we’re going to focus on a few of the varietal wines you’ll find in IL that may not be too familiar, unless you’re a local. Much of the US wine game is…

Winter vineyard in Sonoma Valley with dormant vines in a row

CA Wine Month

A bit on the state of affairs: There is a sense of unease right now during California Wine Month. The 2020 harvest is surrounded by concerns arising from statewide fires and smoke that began from a lightning storm in early August. New fires have also broken out during…

Ripe Pinot Noir grape clusters hanging from grapevines

Let’s Talk Pinot!

Happy International Pinot Noir Day! In honor of today (and the wine you should be enjoying on such a day) we decided to talk a bit about the ancient Pinot Noir grape. Wait…ancient? Yes! Pinot Noir is one of the oldest grapes, with its DNA dating back at…

bunch of grapes in the vineyard

Fun Facts About Albariño!

Today marks the opening of International Albariño Days, a five day series of global festivities surrounding this fun, yet mysterious grape! And to celebrate, we offer 10 fun facts about the grape you should be enjoying sometime between now and next Wednesday: Albariño is mostly grown in the…