Author: Michelle Williams
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Stepping Out of the White #Wine Rut

Is there a difference between a rut and a routine? Let’s say you eat pizza every Friday night. Pizza is awesome! So is that a rut or a routine? What if you eat the exact same pizza from the same pizza place and drink the exact same bottle of wine with that pizza every Friday…
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Tasting Rioja Alavesa: Viñedos y Bodegas de la Marquesa – Valserrano

We spent our first morning in Basque Country in the Alava Province. It is an area of great history juxtaposed with modern structures. For example, we visited a vineyard containing stone foundations from medieval wine presses located not far from Bodegas Ysios. If the landscape contains contradiction the families and wines do not. Rioja Alavesa…
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Dipping My Toe in Murrieta’s Well Estate Vineyard

Do you like to cook? I love to cook. I am easily inspired by the many awesome food bloggers I follow. I also love finding new recipes on Pinterest and in Cooking Light Magazine. For many years as a cook I felt the need to follow each recipe exactly. I lacked confidence in my abilities…
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#Food & #Wine Pairing: Heating up with Cahors Malbec and Pork Chops

In Texas we are in the throes of summer. It is hot, mildly humid, and there is no relief in sight. I don’t like using my oven in the summer because it adds more heat to an already hot enough house. I take advantage of the grill as often as possible this time of year…
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Sowing the Seed of the Future with #Wine

Imagine approaching the summit of Argentina’s Aconcagua Mountain, part of the Andes, with your best friend when oxygen is running low, your lungs are crackling and pulmonary edema is setting in. At this point retreat is the only option. A life well lived is full of retreats, stopping points, re-direction. We all experience brokenness. What…
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Heading South of the Border for Great Taco & #Wine Pairings

Who doesn’t like a taco? A hand held arsenal of deliciousness featuring some type of meat or veggies topped with awesome condiments that include avocado, cheese, and salsa; all enveloped in a pocket of either corn or flour tortillas. Brilliant! I have been eating tacos all my life, but now tacos are trendy. Why? I…
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Rioja Alavesa: The Perfect Day

Some days are just too perfect. Words somehow lack the means of effectively communicating the experience. Poets have ways of transporting us to places and times of great beauty; alas I am not a poet. I am a wine writer armed with joy, gratitude, enthusiasm, and an iPhone 6S. Today, that will have to be…
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Diving Into Bordeaux #Wine with #Winophiles: Médoc & Haut-Médoc

In April of this year I had the great pleasure of spending a week in Bordeaux. As a guest of Millesima our week was hosted by Bernard Magrez. Over the course of the week we were wined and dined like royalty. We attended many En Premiur tasting events and dinner. We toured Bordeaux City, ate…
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Castello di Amorosa: Winery Fit for a King

What comes to mind when you think of castles? For me, castles conjure up ideas of damsels in distress, evil queens, dragons and handsome princes. Ok, so maybe I have seen to many Disney movies or read too many Brothers Grimm stories. Castles are actually fortified structures built by nobility during the medieval period. Castles…
