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.
CLICK HERE to READ this week’s column
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?”
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.
Six years is a long time to do anything, let alone have the privilege of sharing with listeners my favorite wines over the years. Yes, six years ago today, I delivered my first Wine of the Week segment on WTOP and the excitement that I felt that day hasn’t stopped since!
Sometimes I forget things… like where I put my car keys, the name of that actor who starred in the movie I can never remember, and of course, that Washington State makes some pretty good wines, particularly summer-friendly white wines. Well, shame on me.
Last week, I talked about the wonderful pinot noir wines from the Willamette Valley, located just an hour’s drive southwest of Portland, Oregon. And while Oregon has certainly moved up on the proverbial inside rail of Pinot Noir production, California still holds a significant share of the domestic Pinot Noir marketplace.
Last week, I was at a friend’s house for a pinot noir tasting. He had put together an assortment of pinot noir wines from around the globe, including California, France and New Zealand. I was going through the lineup, tasting each wine and evaluating it based on place of origin, varietal characteristics and style when I got to one wine that simply stopped me in my tracks. I knew immediately what it was – like an old friend welcoming you home after a long journey, I was embraced by the familiar scents and flavors of an Oregon Pinot Noir.
