My article Brown Sugar in theSeattle Weekly
tags: dessert wine, madeira, seattle weekly

Apples are still the #1 cash crop in Washington state. But according to a new study, Mary Jane is now #2–more than the wheat and corn crops combined. No mention of cherries.
Suck it, grapes!
Washington is still only #5 overall in the US, lagging behind Tennessee and Kentucky. Which is pretty crazy, considering WA bud costs […]

Check out my article in the Seattle Weekly with my top picks for your beer connoisseur (hint: this hottie is one of them):
Cru Brew by Maggie Dutton
And thanks for bidding on Menu For Hope, over $50,000 for world hunger. Fuck yeah, and a most happy of holidays to all who donated. The rest of you? […]

((all new posts will appear below this one until Dec. 23rd))
This year’s 3rd annual Menu For Hope benefits the United Nations’ World Food Programme. It’s a project started by Chez Pim, and I’ve elected to participate this year because of you, my readers. Last year, I was humbled by the amount of money you all […]

OK, that’s a different wine on the right, but I mistakenly threw the bottle away… So this is what I had in my cellar. Also a screaming good wine, just 2.4 times more expensive.
Paitin Barbera d’Alba “Serra Boella”
Piedmont, Northwest Italy
imported by Michael Skurnik ($15)
The label will look the same, with “Serra Boella” in all caps […]

Bone dry.
Almost not fruity.
Salty.
Fleeting.
Acidity.
See, I have this theory. The unexamined palette is not worth talking to. (OK, so I ripped that off.) I don’t want to talk about wine like people talk about sports or cars. I don’t want to know what futures you bought or whose mailing list you’re on. Just whatchu want to […]

Check out my fun and retro Babycham Punch recipe in this week’s Seattle Weekly.
Yes, I used fun & retro in the same sentence.
And yes, I have been drinking.
Yes, it is morning.
I judge you, too.
But it is a fun recipe. And I did base it off a bunch of old, cheesy, PTA cookbooks.
TODAY’S SHITTY […]

I have people asking me about New Zealand Sauv Blancs all the time. Salesmen used to bring me about 7 or 10 a week–you’d think that I’ve tried them all at this point, surely. But now, I really must tell you…they don’t taste that different from each other. What!? let me explain.
Take tomato sauce, for […]

Teliani Valley Tsinandali
Georgia, Eastern Europe
imported by Georgian Wine House ($11-12)
A hit of ripe fruit, crisp acidity, tastes like a southern Italian, very aromatic. It would go nicely with strong and salty food, like antipasti. I really like it, for something different; but I never would have grabbed it. That makes me feel bad for this […]

Domaine de Pellehaut
“Harmonie de Gascogne”
Southwest France
imported by Charles Neal Selections ($10)
Charles Neal always wears pink shirts. He is an Armagnac freak (Cognac’s drink twin, same stuff, different location), so much so he started importing the stuff. But he also has gathered an impressive portfolio of French country wines that surround Armagnac, Gascony, and the south […]