Category: Food & Wine

Wine Press: Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2017  


Many of the wines come from France, where great bargains can be found.

I once read a news story about a study done about which wines people say they like.

In the study, researchers served two or three identically priced wines. They told people one bottle cost $10 or $15, another bottle cost $30 or $40 and the third bottle cost $80 or $100. I’m just guessing here. Don’t quote me on these numbers.

What matters is researchers found most people said they liked the more expensive wines better, even though all the wines cost the same price.

I don’t buy the study. I know I personally expect a lot more from a wine that costs $100 versus one that costs $10. That’s why I’m always thrilled when I come across a great-tasting wine that costs less than $10 a bottle. I don’t think that means I like cheap wine. I think that means I appreciate a great bargain.

And in recent years, it seems like there’s more great bargains than ever, especially from Europe. Don’t get me wrong. I love wine from the United States. But I often find it really hard to find great wines for under $10 a bottle from California, Oregon or Washington State. Raise the limit to $15 or $20, though, and you’ll discover many fantastic North American wines.

But when it comes to $10 or less, several European countries are king. In particular, I love many of the affordable, dry wines produced in Spain and especially in France [ . . . ] More at: Wine Press: Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2017 | masslive.com

Recipes: Le Creuset cookbook of French recipes 

Chapel Hill author and food writer Sheri Castle is the writer and recipe editor of “Le Creuset: A Collection of Recipes from Our French Table.”

The collection marks the first cookbook from the renowned maker of prestige cookware’s U.S. subsidiary (pronounced “luh cru-say”), which is based in Charleston, S.C. Handsomely illustrated with images from award-winning food photographer Peter Frank Edwards, it includes 80 classic French recipes created by Le Creuset’s culinary team to appeal to an American audience.

Castle promises that a platter of garlic and herb gougères – savory cheese puff nibbles – will dazzle the audience you gather with at festivities this time of year.

“If all you did for a party is hand someone a few gougères and a glass of champagne,” she says, “you’d make a magnificent party.”

The hors d’oeuvres look hard to make but aren’t, she adds. They can be served warm or at room temperature, and even can be prepped in advance and baked at the last minute. Master this and a few other clearly explained techniques, and you’ll be well on your way to transforming your Carolina kitchen into a Paris salon [ . . . ]

Read More: Recipes: Le Creuset cookbook of French recipes | News & Observer

Wine, Etc.: These six Beaujolais crus will help you move beyond nouveau

More than 25 years ago we met Georges Duboeuf, the French winemaker who put Beaujolais on the international wine map. He was parading his region’s unique nouveau – released shortly after harvest and well before any other French wine – as a harbinger of what wine was to come from that year’s crop [ . . . ]

Source: Wine, Etc.: These six Beaujolais crus will help you move beyond nouveau – Capital Gazette

French Ranks No. 1 For Sustainable Eats

This new study puts the country at No. 1.

We’ve long admired the French for their food philosophy, breezy approach to beauty, and genius self-care routines. And according to a new report, we should envy their commitment to sustainability, too.

France ranked No. 1 overall on this year’s Food Sustainability Index(FSI), developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition Foundation. The FSI analyzed 34 of the world’s most developed nations to see how they stacked up on food waste, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition.

With an overall ranking of 74.79, France took home the gold, due in large part to its commitment to fighting food waste. Last year, [ . . . ] More: French Ranks No. 1 For Sustainable Eats – mindbodygreen

 

France Offers Chinese Primer in Mastering Wine Industry

By 2020, experts believe China will be the world’s second biggest wine market — getting there means mastering the trade

DIJON, FRANCE — 

Yixuan Hao swirls the sparkling red in her glass and dips nearer to sniff. Throughout this frigid afternoon, she has been smelling and tasting wines from sunnier climates: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, California. Perhaps soon, sooner than many people think, students like herself learning the wine trade here in Burgundy, will be sipping vintages from another New World upstart: China. [ . . . ] More: France Offers Chinese Primer in Mastering Wine Industry