March 17, 2010
All there is to sip and savor in New Orleans
Happy Hour

October 2009

Random Ramblings ...

10/29/09

Random Ramblings ...

… while wondering if Dom Pérignon ever considered that his precious wine would be spewed all over race courses by testosterone-overloaded winning drivers.

A Soggy End

The Northern California Harvest of 2009 was practically flawless. Perfect growing conditions throughout the entire season will deliver to us some really fine wines, beginning with the whites in about a year.

But after more than 90 percent of the fruit designated for wine had been picked, the rains came. And it poured. Normally the rains do not occur until early November, but this time, in mid-October, le deluge.

Flooding took place all over Wine Country and even in San Francisco as streams immediately became torrents of rushing...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2
Yeah, We Deserved That!

10/22/09

Yeah, We Deserved That!

Recently the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine were asked to rank certain cities in a wide variety of categories.

The categories ranged from Friendly, Intelligent and Athletic/Active to Music, Theater and Museums.

There were more than 30 cities included in the rankings, and they were ranked in more than 50 categories. It was a pretty extensive survey, though to be fair, it was open only to subscribers and/or readers of Travel + Leisure, a good collection of folk, no doubt, but also a demographically narrow group with specific interests.

Anyway, we will take our kudos where they lie and not quibble over the shortcomings of an opt-in-only survey.

And the meaning with which we will not quibble is that our fair burg did...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0
Halloween Spirits

10/15/09

Halloween Spirits

BOO!!!

The way the whole Halloween thing has turned out is really logical when you think about it.

As children, most of us would find some costume that suited our desires, our situations or our available resources, and we would then go about looking like who-knows-what, asking our neighbors for candy. Nice touch for a pagan holiday, sending your offspring out to beg for sugar.

Yet it was fun and another opportunity to roam the neighborhood, only this time in the dark and with sweeter results.

As we grew up, Halloween parties ensued, complete with friends, at least a few of whom surprised us with their creativity and/or sheer gall to leave the house looking like that.

From there, because we live in a city that simultaneously...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1
Who Ya Gonna Believe?

10/08/09

Who Ya Gonna Believe?

You don’t have to look far to find someone who is willing to give you advice on a wide variety of subjects. Sometimes it’s one person on many subjects who is looking over your shoulder and watching your every move.
But this column is not about your mother, your wife, your husband, your best friend, your personal trainer or your yoga instructor –– pick as many as apply.

You need only go to the Internet, as you have here, to find no end of people who are full of … advice. And Web sites that rate experiences are as numerous as the experiences they are rating.

Wine is a particularly favored topic for folks who are more than happy to advise you on what you are supposed to like and what you should be buying. It is amazing for a...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0
You Should Know

10/01/09

You Should Know

Inevitably a friend, or even a relative (they can be different, you know), comes to New Orleans intent on enjoying the great cultural opportunities that we mostly take for granted. And along with the where-do-you-suggest-we-dine questions comes one that’s sometimes a stumper for locals: Where can we go to hear some good New Orleans music? Then you pause, you think, you wonder, and maybe you call one of your friends who spends more time in such pursuits than you. Frenchman Street comes up, maybe Snug Harbor, but, of course, you have no idea who is playing there. After that, the pickings seem to get slim. Who’s at Tip’s? House of Blues? Anywhere? Even if you settle on a place, there is a downside that has to do with the quality of the beverages. In many places, emphasis is placed on entertainment and not on cocktails or wine.

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

About This Blog

Tim learned to appreciate wine from his wife-to-be, Brenda Maitland, and it has been a fascinating 35-year journey for the couple. Tim graduated from Jesuit College Prep in Dallas, then earned a journalism degree from the University of North Texas. He came to Louisiana because of his love of New Orleans, then fell in love with Brenda and simultaneously fell in love with all things wine.

Tim and Brenda travel the world with the grape and have made many friends because of wine. Tim is a past board member and two-term president of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience; former officer in the New Orleans chapter of Chaine des Rotisseurs; past president of the American Wine Society in New Orleans; and, with Brenda, currently serves on the board of the Museum of the American Cocktail. Tim lectures on wine and wine history twice each year at the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Auburn University, as well as judging professional wine competitions in California and Florida.

Tim writes a monthly feature about wine and spirits for New Orleans Magazine, and is a weekly contributor, writing about wine and spirits, to www.myneworleans.com. He is also executive editor of Gulf Coast Wine and Dine Magazine, and hosts a two-hour weekly program, "The Wine Show," on WIST 690AM in New Orleans. Listen to "The Wine Show" every Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.  

Click HERE to listen to "The Wine Show."

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