The Evolving Palate(...but intelligently designed)

Re-hydrating the Morels

Cathy and I went up to visit Mr.Dr. and Mom for the weekend. It was the perfect excuse for Mr. Dr. and I to make another dinner with wine.

After some discussion, we decided that we would make something that has been on our “to do” list for several years; Salt Baked Fish. This is something that Mr.Dr. and I have talked about since before I married his daughter (7 years ago)...

I had the pleasure of being hosted by Joel Peterson, the founder and current President/CEO of Ravenswood, at the 2013 ZAP Festival’s Winemaker’s Dinner. He started his winemaking career in the mid 1970’s by buying, harvesting and vinting zinfandel grapes. Since then, he has been one of the leaders in the renaissance of zinfandel wine...

Castello di Amorosa, (http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/) which translates to Castle of Love (though I preferred to translate it to “Love Shack”) is hidden from the road by the trees and slope of the hill. When you pass through the lovely iron gates at the entrance and start up the drive, you only see the neatly pruned lines of grapes planted on all sides...

For me, one of the mandatory stops on any Napa Valley wine trip is the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (http://www.cask23.com). Given its legendary reputation and importance of the development of California wines, it is hard to provide any new or even objective review of this winery. First a little history. The winery itself was founded in 1970...

Maryland wine has a reputation, not wholly undeserved, that is less than stellar. It is considered both unrefined and unfocused. There are several wineries with as many as 30 different wines and the focus seems to be on playful wine rather than “good” wine, especially as it relates to red wines. I believe this is the result of more than one factor.

The first is the relative age of Maryland winerie...

“Welcome to Del Dotto Vineyards, where Wine is Liquid Art and Our Cave is the Art Gallery.

When we drink from a new barrel, it is like looking at a painting, cutting it up, and eating it! We experience the art; it becomes part of our life experience. The value of the remaining pieces goes up because there is less for the world to enjoy.

The Wine is the Reduction Sauce, and the Barrel is the Spice...

September is the perfect time of year to visit wine country. It is still warm, but not horribly hot, and the crush is just starting so the winery staff is happy to be there. The tourist season is mostly over which means you get a combination of small crowds, happy winemakers, and plenty of interesting things to see.

We had the opportunity to do the St...

This is the first of our periodic postings to “The Evolving Palate”. This particular event seem fitting for the inaugural post in that it includes many of the themes we hope to cover- cooking, eating, and fine wines. Even if these articles are never read, it gives us an excuse to indulge in these pastimes.

Background

The story of the ZAP Iron Chef event starts, for us, nine months previous at th...