A cold beer is usually somewhere close by any grill. Any beer makes for a good match with grilled foods. As appreciation for pairing foods with wine has grown, so has interest in beers of different styles and characteristics. Many of the best matches with roasted and grilled foods share that “roasty” quality. Pork cracklings, […]

November: Dark Ales for the Season! The weather is crisp, the sweaters are out, the Holiday season is fast approaching, and we thirst to drink beers that are richer in flavor and darker in color, but not necessarily heavy in body. There is a time and a place for every kind of beer, this we […]

Opinion wavers on clear rights and wrongs when it comes to food and wine matching, but certain flavors bring out the best in each other. Use this guide as a rule of thumb, but most of all, enjoy the wine you drink. Beef, Roast or Stew: Cabernet Sauvignon * Cabernet Sauvignon {pronounce it: cab-er-nay sew-vin-yon} can fairly […]

This month, we’re sipping brews from that most unusual place they call Del-Mar-Va! Each of these beers are produced within 200 miles of DC, and we consider them all hometown favorites. Even better, these brews are in a wide variety of styles, from Belgian-style ales to rich porters that are sure to please. No one […]

Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva, 2008 (Puglia, Italy) February is a big month with big events such as Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras, and the wine-of-the-month should follow suit. This month, our selection comes from Southeast Italy, a region called Puglia (or sometimes Apuglia), that roughly corresponds to “the heel of the boot” of the Italian […]

As varied, complex, and downright confusing as the world of beer can be, there is one fundamental truth, some beers are lagers and others are ales. Ales, the older of the two beer types, use warm fermentation and top-fermenting yeasts to produce a bolder, stronger brew than its counterpart. However, just because all ales use […]

When people think about the history of beer in the US, they often think of the great Midwestern brewing masters like Adlophus Busch, Eberhard Anheuser, Joseph Schlitz, and Frederick Miller. Today, the art of brewing beer is alive and well in the Great Lakes region as we celebrate with a selection of beers in different […]

Ring in the new year with Champagne or one of its bubbly cousins. And don’t stop there — you can top off pretty much any cocktail with Champagne. Tips for champagne party-throwing success: 1. Pick up at least four to six different bottles — each one pours about five average-size glasses or up to 12 […]

Francis Ford Coppola Winery’s Votre Santé Chardonnay (2010) Named after Coppola’s paternal grandmother’s favorite toast – “À Votre Santé!”, meaning “To Your Health!” – and made in a classic Burgundian style this wine is a lovely, soft and palate-pleasing. This Chardonnay fruit is aged half in stainless steel to produce crisp mineral notes and expressive […]