Europe Trip | Grapes and Grains

Bellagio (Not the One in Vegas)

Posted in Wine on Apr 25th, 2011

Just arrived in Lake Como. While we wait for George Clooney’s dinner invite, think we’ll sip some Verdicchio…

Mr Ed: Tonight’s Appetizer

Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 23rd, 2011

Good for the heart, good for the mind. It’s horse meat! Yep, horse meat! What fine beverage would you pair with this action?

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Beers in Fair Verona?

Posted in Beer on Apr 23rd, 2011

Just arrived in Verona. Kat ran out to buy a couple of beers. Look closely: “Analcolica”. Way to go, Kat! A couple of non-alcoholic beers. Yippee!

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Al Merca, the Hole-in-the-Wall Bacari

Posted in Wine on Apr 23rd, 2011

Stumbled upon the local, outdoor wine bar off the Grand Canal in Venice. Garganega non-filtrate “Fasoli” & Ribolla Giala “Sirch”. F’in sweet.

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Life on the Road: Au Revoir, France

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine on Apr 21st, 2011

We’ve sung Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” ten times more than the average Willie fan can muster in a 3-week period. It’s been an interesting transition being away from home this long. As each day is so dense, a week ends up feeling like a month. Learning traffic signs in the moment while zipping […]

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The French Sure Like Their Wine

Posted in Beer, Wine on Apr 19th, 2011

A pretty typical offering of beers in a French bistro (in fact, a lot for draft in this case). Apparently, beer takes a backseat here.

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Somewhere on a Beach Outside of Antibes

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine on Apr 17th, 2011

There could be worse places for an Irishman to get a sunburn than the French Riviera…

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Afternoon Drinks in the Southern Rhone

Posted in Beer, Wine on Apr 15th, 2011

My puny glass of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc pales in comparison to Kat’s afternoon beer.

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Vineyard Porn: the Grand Crus of Burgundy

Posted in Wine on Apr 13th, 2011

Believe it or not, you can drive your car right up to the Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy. No barbed wire, half-starved Rottweilers or retina scans to keep you out. Nope, you can walk directly up to the vines and lie down next to them, if you so fancy (see the insane photo album at […]

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Wine Geek Pop Quiz

Posted in Wine on Apr 12th, 2011

What is this hill in the Northern Rhone called? I plan on scaling it tomorrow morning if you’re free to join.

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In the Company of Kings

Posted in Wine on Apr 9th, 2011

Day #2 of getting up in the grills of Burgundy vineyards. Romanée-Conti & Le Montrachet had no idea we were coming. Snuck up like ninjas.

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On the Road to Chinon

Posted in Beer, Wine on Apr 7th, 2011

The alarm went off too damn early. Way, way too early. If the jet lag didn’t get us the night before, the vino would follow up with the one-two punch. It was time to leave Paris. After four nights, we were headed to the Loire Valley (see photo slideshow below). We made our way through […]

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In the Shadow of Quasimodo

Posted in Beer, G&G Videos, Wine on Apr 4th, 2011

What do you get when you mix jet lag, Quasimodo and Belgian beer all into a baguette? Well, it would probably look something like this… Just before we packed up our bags to move on to our next journey, we made a little ode to the city of Paris.

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