Wine Together

We were delighted to hang out with Emilia this week with espresso martini mocktails and cheesecake. Unfortunately not one of Emilia’s famous cheesecakes, but it was good in a pinch!😉 As her momma, I loved seeing Emilia in the screen as we chatted about everyday life and podcasting/live streaming. Even from a distance, seeing their faces and smiles helps me find comfort in the distance between me...

Phony Negroni . We chose this mocktail because we LOVE a good Negroni and were hoping the non-alcoholic version would be just as lovable .💜😁 It was ok… what made it better was the dish we paired with it - Spanish Baked Eggs. It was our first effort at this dish so we will need to work on making it more delicious and appealing to our tastes.😉 Mocktails are a fun way to enjoy glassware without th...

Our drink of choice this week is an aromatised wine-based drink we named B & D Swiss Sangria. What is that, you ask? Well… a bit of history. In January 2014, the European Union granted Geographical Indication (GI) protection to Sangria to safeguard cultural heritage, prevent consumer fraud, and protect the local economy. So we cannot call our homemade drink Sangria, but we can call it what we...

Continuing our month of Swiss wines and food pairings, this week we take on Switzerland’s very own Chasselas. DNA of this grape indicates it is an indigenous variety originating from the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland.🇨🇭 Because of this, the grape is historically protected under the name Fendant in that part of the country. Other countries plant this grape, but not in the quantity per square ac...

Le Rosel Rosé de Pinot Noir 2025 Elegant rosé with notes of red fruits, citrus and yeast (that’s different)… this wine is dry, acidic, but not tannic or overpowering with alcohol tastes. It pairs very well with gamey meats and pasta with almost any sauce. Paired with: horse steak and pasta tossed with a pink pesto melded with ricotta. We added a toasted garlic bread with melted mozzarella and parm...

Autumn is almost here according to the calendar, but the weather has been unseasonably warm (actually hot) in Switzerland this year. However, we are forging ahead and drinking red wine anyway.😁🍷 This Swiss red, Lemanic Salvagnin, made from the Gamay grape grown up above the shores of Lake Geneva is fruity, dry, and easily drinkable… so drinkable.😯 The flavors of dark red, blue, and black berrie...

September is one of my favorite months no matter where I happen to be in the world… cooler weather, the smell of warm apples & cinnamon, my favorite color - orange 🧡 - poking through everywhere from nature to home decor… and slower, later mornings (for me). Brooke and I decided this September we would feature Swiss wines and food for the podcast. We are starting with one of my favorites… Heid...

This week Brooke and Deb threw together a light seafood pasta to pair with Sunnu Oeil de Perdrix 2025 from Canton Valais in Switzerland. Only in our wildest dreams would we pair a wine from the French-speaking region of Switzerland with an Italian-inspired seafood pasta dish and tell you all about in English!🤣💜 .., but, hey… that’s how we roll in late summer trying to make everything work with w...

We‘re baaack! We were on a much needed pause to celebrate several birthdays. So… back to work. The wine we had with our summer watermelon plate was very sweet. It is definitely not the kind of wine I would normally choose, but paired with the watermelon and feta cheese it was tolerable. The berries were jammed in there, but the added sweetness was too much for my palate. So if you find yourself at...

Champagne is for celebrating, am I right? What I found in my search of why is that it incorporates most of our senses… • the pop of the cork for sound • bubbles do sight and touch (feel) • floral and fruity notes for smell • subtle alcohol and fruit flavor for taste One article also stated that because royalty were often known to use champagne to celebrate, others followed suit to feel like they a...

Cocktail : The Purple Hugo… made with the traditional recipe of Elderflower syrup, Prosecco, and fresh mint leaves but with the addition of Gordan‘s Shimmer Berry Gin Liqueur. The Hugo is a very popular cocktail in Switzerland. Originally created in Austria as an alternative to the Aperol Spritz, the first iteration of the Hugo combined a bitter lemon liqueur with prosecco and mint leaves (with a...

The biggest rule in dessert pairing: The wine should usually be as sweet as - or sweeter than - the dessert. If the dessert is sweeter than the wine, the wine can suddenly taste: • sour • bitter • thin • overly alcoholic That’s why dry red wines often struggle with cake, chocolate, or pastries. A Cabernet next to chocolate cake can taste harsh and acidic even if it tasted smooth on its own. But de...

This Week’s Pour: Señorìo de los Llanos Valdepeñas Reserva 2020 The Pairing: Grilled chicken and cheddar hoagies with: • fire-kissed Duke’s mayo-smeared bread • grilled onions • peppers • mushrooms • melted cheddar cheese • optional honey mustard drizzle What We Tasted: The wine opened with floral aromas and soft berry notes immediately after uncorking. On the palate, the Reserva leaned smooth and...

The Wine: Today’s pour was Cuvée Rosé Suisse - a Swiss rosé that leaned fresh, clean, and food-friendly rather than overly fruity or sweet. Swiss wines are interesting because most people outside of Switzerland never get to try them. This is because the country produces relatively small amounts of wine and much of it stays local. That makes Swiss wine feel a little like a hidden gem for wine lover...

This week’s pour was the 2023 Étoile du Sud IGP Côtes Catalanes from the sun-soaked south of France. Ooo lala… We paired this with broiled pangasius wrapped in tortillas and topped with a bright homemade mango salsa bursting with citrus, garlic, heat, and freshness. The pairing tasted like summer vacation on a plate!😁 The wine‘s crispy, easy-drinking personality worked beautifully with the sweet...

This week’s pour was the 2023 Étoile du Sud IGP Côtes Catalanes from the sun-soaked south of France. Ooo lala… We paired this with broiled pangasius wrapped in tortillas and topped with a bright homemade mango salsa bursting with citrus, garlic, heat, and freshness. The pairing tasted like summer vacation on a plate!😁 The wine‘s crispy, easy-drinking personality worked beautifully with the sweet...

This week’s pour: Cantine Due Palma Primitivo Sedotto 8 2024. We paired this with homemade Hawaiian pizza… and what a discovery we made in the process.😉💜 We gave this young Primitivo a quick decant (about 25 minutes) before dinner and it absolutely paid off. The wine opened beautifully… softening the edges and allowing more of the ripe fruit and spice notes to come forward. The pairing surprised...

This week‘s wine and food was a bold and surprisingly cozy pairing: a 2022 Salice Salentino Rosso alongside a BBQ Chicken grilled cheese served on sliced ciabatta. The sandwich brought together shredded BBQ chicken, melted cheddar cheese, jalapeños, and red onions pressed into crispy grilled ciabatta - smoky, sweet, spicy, and rich in all the right ways! Mmm… mmm… mmm.😋 The Salice Salentino Rosso...

Casa Santos Lima 'Bonavita' Tinto is a popular, budget-friendly Portuguese red wine from the Lisboa region, known for its fruity profile with notes of cherry, plum, and berries, often with hints of spice or oak from aging. It's a blend of grapes like Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Castelao, and Syrah, making it a smooth, easy-drinking wine that pairs well with grilled meats, pasta, and b...

This week’s pour: Be Dream Red Berry This week we opened a „sweet little bottle“ - literally… 50cL and just 7.1% ABV. This Swiss red blend came in sweet, fruity, and somewhat easy to drink. But this episode turned into something more interesting than expected… We explored the relationship between sweetness and alcohol in wine, breaking down how fermentation works: Yeast converts sugar into alcohol...

🍷Wine: Balance Chenin Blanc Colombar 2025 🍲 Pairing: Cape Malay Chicken Curry This week’s pot leans bright, youthful, and unapologetically easy to enjoy. The Balance Chenin Blanc Colombar 2025 is a young, white blend, and that youth works in its favor. Unlike many young red wines - which can feel tight, tannic, and a little aggressive - young white wines tend to show off their best qualities rig...

Wine: Palooza Creation Rosé 2024 Food: Mexican Chicken Street Tacos Started out as crisp, light, and fruity… turned into tequila-like somethin‘ somethin‘… just sayin‘ we didn’t expect that. Brooke is showing some real confidence by going outside the box with the food and wine pairings! Cheers, B & D💜🍷

This week’s pour takes us straight to Northern Spain - where the wine is bold, the food is hearty, and chorizo is doing exactly what it was born to do… steal the show!😁🔥 This is one of those pairings where nothing is competing - everything is just… agreeing with each other. The wine is medium-bodied (just right for those winters that just don’t want to let go)… notes of red cherry, raspberry, ma...

Apologies for the audio issues at the beginning of the episode! This week, we enjoyed Los Pasos 2024 Carménère, a wine that really leans into approachability and balance. 🍷 Carménère, originally from Bordeaux but now mostly famously grown in Chile, is known for its softer structure - and this bottle absolutely delivered on that promise. On the palate, this wine was smooth and easygoing, with low...

This week’s pour is Epicuro Rosato, a vibrant Italian rosé that brings together fresh fruit, bright acidity, and easy-drinking charm. Typically sourced from sun-soaked regions like Puglia or Sicily, this style of Rosato reflects warmth, ripeness, and a relaxed approach to wine. The perfect way to welcome the new warm weather.🌞 Made from red grape varieties such as Negroamaro or Nero d’Avola, Epic...