Last night was another educational and fun tasting with Erik Segelbaum, Smithsonian Associates and SommStock. This tasting took us on a journey of Burgundy. I realized I am officially on the white wine train. I enjoyed the Chablis and Mersault (bottles 1 & 2 respectively). I also loved that Erik gave us an easy way …
journey
Cooking from the heart…
Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking. This cookbook is visually stunning with great stories. “Through recipes and stories, we cook along with these pioneering figures, from enslaved chefs to middle- and upper-class writers and entrepreneurs.” More people need to hear and share these stories. They are important stories. American stories. If you …
Storytellers…
Before: So, I decided at the last minute to come to Story District’s Breaking Bread “Stories from Celebrity Chefs and Industry Insiders” by myself. Story District’s mission is to “build community, promote empathy, and enrich an understanding of our common humanity through the art of autobiographical storytelling.” At first, I wasn’t feeling it but thought …
Yup, there’s drinking in Morocco…
To be honest, prior to planning a trip to Morocco, I figured it was going to be mostly a “dry” trip. I prepared myself to be sober for a few weeks. Yikes! I naively thought that the North African country seriously frowned upon all drinking. Well, all things except Moroccan Whiskey aka Mint Tea. Ya’ll …
Dinner in a Fortress…
Getting around Morocco can be a nail biting experience. Whether it’s going around a traffic circle or bargaining for a taxi ride (bargain, bargain, bargain!). But hey, if there’s food involved, we’ll make it happen! Our first dinner out in Casablanca was at La Sqala. La Sqala is located in a 18th-century Portuguese fortress surrounded …
Street Life…
I love capturing Street Life in the places I visit. Life goes on.
Chillin by the Ocean…
La Corniche is a really popular area in Casablanca where you can find locals and tourists hanging out together. It sits along side the Atlantic Ocean with restaurants, hotels, pools and it’s also an excellent place to people watch. We decided to have a seafood lunch with wine at La Terrazza. In the background people …
It’s All in the Details…
When we pulled up to the outside of this building, I was a bit confused. That was until we walked inside. It’s amazing and beautiful. Everything is so detailed. There was an orange tree and rose bushes in the middle of the yard! Scroll to the last picture to see what building this is. I …
The Mosque by the Ocean….
The Hassan II Mosque was built beside and above the Atlantic Ocean. King Hassan II said that “I want to build this mosque on the water because God’s throne is on the water…” Here are more pictures of the outside of the Mosque. I love this picture of three friends enjoying the peaceful sounds of …
A Dream Fulfilled…
Last month, I finally crossed one of my dream destinations off my list…Morocco!! I took this adventure with a brave tour guide and 33 women (this included the entire DMV Travel Crew + 1 new friend) and it was an amazing trip. You ever take so many pictures on vacation that you end up not …
A mystery, a ticket and two stretch limos…
During the Wine Bloggers Conference on Friday night, there’s a thing called “Mystery Excursions.” You get a random, color ticket from the conference registration desk and at 5:15pm meet in the hotel lobby. The cool thing is you don’t know where you are going! Once the groups were gathered by ticket color, we were loaded …
We’re on a winding, bumpy road to somewhere…
Part two of our tour with Force Majeure takes us to the top of some serious uninhabited land in an area called North Fork. The area is named North Fork because the “North Fork of the Walla Walla River runs along the bottom of the canyon.” Since our large coach bus can’t make it up …
I’m so excited…
This Wednesday, I take off for my first Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) being held in Walla Walla, Washington. WBC is a jam packed, 3-day schedule where wine bloggers from around the world get together for wine education and to taste wine from the host city. One of the sessions is Live Red and White Wine …
Just start already…
I’m supposed to start writing about wine and maybe some other stuff. But when you’re a novice writer, where do you start? Especially where do you start when you have to add wine in the mix? I’ve been told by numerous people, you just start! I have been a wine lover for the last 15-20 years (did I just give away my age??). So it should be easy for me to write about something I love. Right?
I started with White Zinfandel, like most people I know. I left a lot of my friends in the White Zin and Sweet wine category. Sweet wine never worked for me (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). I’ve just always been different. I love the taste of Bourbon/Whiskey and even Tequila. When people turn up their faces when drinking, a big smile comes across mine. So it seemed only natural that my palette gravitated to Full Bodied Cabernet, Syrah and Zinfandels (yes, Zinfandel).
On my first trip to the land of Full Bodied Cabernets (Napa), ya’ll I was hooked! On this trip, I was lucky to take a Wine Immersion Class from Karen MacNeil (Author of the Wine Bible). I even have my signed certificate hanging proudly on my frig. Napa made me fall deeper and deeper in love with wine.
What a journey it has been. From joining tasting clubs, to visiting wineries around the world, to studying and hopefully passing my CSW exam. I don’t know where this wine journey will take me but please join me on this ride! I sure could use a co-pilot!