If April showers bring May flowers, then October Brides get showered with colorful leaves and crisp autumn air.
According to the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners, it appears that there are a growing number of couples who are opting for fall weddings. In addition, many of these weddings are destination events, with venues as close as a couple of hours or as far away as another continent.
David Phinney has a restless soul and a deft touch when it comes to making wine. He is the man behind the proverbial curtain of Orin Swift Cellars, which he began after taking a permanent hiatus from college in 1998. A fortuitous trip to Italy with a college roommate set him on a course that would eventually please palates from around the globe with wines he makes from around the globe.
According to Wikipedia, a saint is defined as “a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness…”
While the English term “saint” originated in Christianity, historians of religion now use the appellation in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people with remarkable conviction and generosity of spirit, including members of the Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist faiths. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official ecclesiastical declaration and denomination or by popular acclamation.
One of the most common questions friends ask me is, “What’s next big thing in wine?” Many wine drinkers simply want to know where the next batch of great wine is coming from. While this is a little bit like asking the weatherman for a two-week forecast, I can definitively tell you one thing: It depends.
There are a lot of wines out there – and trust me, some are great and some are not so great. Without a fair amount of dedicated research or a lot of trial and error, it can be difficult to consistently find good wines at a fair price. That is, unless, you happen to have a trusty guide who has a tried and true nose for value-oriented wines to point you in the right direction. Nationally renowned but locally based importer Robert Kacher – or Bobby, as he is known inside the trade – has just such a nose.
Where did the summer go? How did we get all the way through the heat and humidity of the August – which actually wasn’t as torrid as usual this year – and slide so quickly into September and the hustle and bustle associated with deadlines at work and school bus schedules? I vaguely recall getting some relief from the summertime blues with the help of assorted crisp white wines and a few pinot noirs here and there. But now we’re back into the thick of it, with rush-hour traffic and constant reminders of impending homework assignments (do teenagers ever remember to do anything on their own that does not involve their cell phones?).
School supplies? Check. New clothes? Check. New alarm time set? Check. All systems are ‘go’ for work/school reentry as you prepare to leave summer’s orbital status and make your final approach back to reality after Labor Day.
A fellow wine enthusiast posted the following question to a group of journalists on social media, “When wine consumers are determining quality in wine, what do you think they’re looking for?”
I jokingly replied, “A second date…” or at least I thought it was a joke. It turns out that it struck a nerve. It turns out that it is far more complicated that just finding a decent bottle of wine at a good price – i.e. “value.”
Greece is considered by many to be the birthplace of wine. In addition to having the oldest documentation of a deity dedicated to wine – Dionysus – there is archeological evidence to support the theory that wine was an important part of Greek life dating back over four thousand years. Wine was not only a staple of the daily Greek diet, but also played a viable role in their economy as well as their cultural celebrations.
Not that long ago, DC was a foddie wasteland, with limited dining options and only a handful of innovative chefs.
Today, DC is one of the foodie-friendliest cities in America, known for a wide variety of hip hangouts, celebrity chef outposts and exceptional restaurants. Best of all, during Restaurant Week – which begins August 17th and runs through the 23rd, you can experience many of the top establishments at a discount. Enjoy a 3-course lunch for just $22 and a 3-course dinner for only $35. That’s a pretty good deal. Presented by Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, this year’s summer restaurant week has 250 participating restaurants spread out all over the District, Maryland and Virginia.
