Michigan Wine

Happy Michigan Wine Month! With 13,700 acres under vine, Michigan is currently the 4th largest grape-growing state in the US with the #6 spot for production, just a hair behind Oregon.  Most of the acreage is devoted to Niagara and Concord grapes for table use, which make up…

Delicious homemade tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on rye.

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

It is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, and we decided to celebrate this year with Cameron’s favorite grilled cheese recipe and serving suggestions. Cam says, keep it simple! Too many folks nowadays use crazy cheese and fruit or protein combos.  That is fine, but to really enjoy a…

Moldova winery Milestii Mici

Off The Beaten Path: Moldova

So now our theme emerges in the Off The Beaten Path series.  Coat tailing.  Picking up from our previous article on Tunisia and people we reached out to not knowing where it was on the map, our next wine producing country is much the same. Somewhat sandwiched, but…

Understanding AOC: Languedoc-Roussillon

The Languedoc-Roussillon region of France is a strange crossroads of wine blends, ancient politics, and relatively inexpensive wine for the high quality shopper on a budget.  It is even said that the sparkling wines of this region actually predate Champagne (not to mention they are a fraction of…

Understanding AOC: Loire Valley

And without further ado, Loire Valley. Ok, no lie, we were holding off on writing about the Loire for as long as possible.  What direction should we go?  How should we present the information?  What is the best way to simplify such diversity?  This is not an easy…

A winery and vineyard in Provence region of France

Understanding AOC: Provence

Provence AOC (or Provençal wine) comes to us from the southeastern area of France along the Mediterranean Sea – an area with a winegrowing history dating back to the Greeks some 2,600 years ago. While the region is known the world over for Rosé wines, whites and reds…

Red grapes on a vine in vineyard in Maryland, USA

Happy Maryland Wine Month!

The state of Maryland has documented winemaking beginning as far back as 1648, but sadly it wasn’t until almost 300 years later in 1945 when the state had its first winery open. The state of Maryland has 3 recognized AVAs & 4 distinct growing regions: Linganore AVA –…

landscape view of Saint Emilion village in Bordeaux region in France

Understanding AOC: Bordeaux

We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume you have heard of Bordeaux before and skip the whole “one of the most recognizable wine regions in the world” speil and get down to the real reason we are talking about it – what is in…

Grape vineyard from New York state's wine industry

New York Wine

March begins what is essentially New York Wine Month, known as NY drinks NY, culminating in a Grand Tasting in New York City later this month.  For more information on NY drinks NY, click here. New York has a rich history of growing and production stretching back to…

Rows of ripe Rogue Valley wine grapes ready for harvest at a hillside vineyard

Rogue Valley AVA

Nestled in the southern-most reaches of Oregon, riding the border of California and comprised of 3 adjacent river valleys is the Rogue Valley AVA (a sub-appellation of the Southern Oregon AVA).  The area was originally planted by European settlers in the mid-1800s with the first official winery being Valley…