WineBites

your guide to the best of wine and food

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
recipes

Coq Au Vin
(from The Mushroom Council)

Pair with Pinot Noir or Merlot

7 slices (about 1/2 cup) bacon, chopped
1 package (10 0z.) frozen baby carrots, thawed (we recommend fresh)
1 cup onion
4 halves (1 1/2 lb.) chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper, ground
1/4 tsp. sugar
2 cups red wine, dry
12 oz. small, whole mushrooms (or medium halved)
In a Dutch oven, over high heat, cook bacon, carrots, and onions; 5 minutes. Push vegetables to one side. Add chicken; brown 3 minutes on each side. Stir in flour, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar until well mixed. Pour in wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves 4.

 
 
 
OF NOTE

Portello Wine Cafe, Bend OR (in Travel)
Excellent selection of wines by the glass (good selection of beer as well). All wines by the glass are $5 each every day until 3:00pm (more . . .)

Montevina Barbera (in WineNotes)
Red wine bombs are everywhere these days. We just visited one winery and was served a Sangiovese that was 16.5% alcohol. Big fruit + lots of alcohol = wine bomb.

It makes you appreciate a winery that can produce a nicely balanced red wine that is enjoyable to drink. Montevina Barbera is one of those wines. (More . . .)

ZAP 2008
Over 250 wineries pouring two or more different Zinfandels each -- it's heaven on earth for Zin lovers. (More . . .)

Barnard Griffin Wins
Barnard Griffin won Best of Class and the Pink Sweepstakes for its 2007 Rose of Sangiovese at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The Washington state winery also won a Double Gold for its 2005 Merlot, Columbia Valley, a Gold for its 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, and a Silver award for its 2004 Ciel du Cheval Reserve from Red Mountain.

Cape Cod Wine
It wasn't that long ago that we finally had a winery in every state in the union, but it's still surprising when you run across a winery in an area you don't associate with wine.

That's how we felt when we discovered Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod on a recent trip there.

Idaho's burgeoning wine country, situated 45 minutes from Boise, tightly packed along the (more. . .)