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This radio show aired on March 2 and followed my coverage of the Maconnais subregion of Burgundy. This show covered its neighbor to the north; Cote Chalonnaise. This subarea produces white, red and sparkling wines, unlike the Macon, which focused on Chardonnay. The...

I have been covering the Burgundy wine region for over a month now on radio, but neglected to keep up with my blog, so the next several. blogs will focus on the subregions of Burgundy and all its wines. That will include recommended wines to try in each area. This...

This Salon Saturday radio show aired on February 3 when I covered Italian red wines for Valentine’s Day. However these luscious reds are good anytime, certainly with Italian cuisine, but also any hearty meal, charcuterie board or roasted meats. I actually look for...

Jane Austen was a topic we explored on the February 3 Salon Saturday radio show. Many romantic movies were based on the novels of Jane Austen and many of our notions about romantic movies began with her. What was it like for a woman writer back in the late 18th and...

This topic aired on Salon Saturday on January 27. While the inspiration was Valentine’s Day, these movies are popular year round. Being a sommelier I love pairing movies with wine and spirits and the choices here are available most places and I recommend all of them....

This topic aired on the Salon Saturday radio show on January 27. I chose the topic partly because Valentine’s Day was coming, but a good romance novel works any time of year. Romance novels have evolved over time and many readers enjoy the classics as well as...

Typically tequila is used in cocktails, but smoother versions are also fine for just sipping and you don’t need cocktail shakers and lots of other ingredients. Every make a Bloody Mary from scratch? I rest my case. We did a tasting on air of two tequilas so I wanted...

This segment aired on the January 13 Salon Saturday show. Obviously a dramedy is a concatenation of drama and comedy, but in what combination? If you find yourself whipping out a hanky for much of a movie’s run time, it’s not a comedy. However, when the comedic...

This Salon Saturday radio show aired on January 6, 2024. Italy has more than 500 native grape varieties and at least 175 of those ends up in everyday wines, making Italy one of the most challenging countries to explore and describe in toto.  Even Wine Folly agrees...

We didn’t do a show in early December because I was still on the island of Kauai, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t writing and the Garden Isle always provides inspiration. Kauai has also inspired many movies that were filmed here so if you have never visited it and were...