Wine and restaurant reviews
Earlier this year Gabriele and I rented a cabin in the high country of North Carolina, in the northwest corner of the state. It’s beautiful country down there and we had a fun and relaxing time. For dining out the most promising option was Boone, about 20 miles from where we were staying. Boone is […]
Welcome to the third installment of Parente on Parker. In this series I take a look at some of Robert Parker’s picks for the best wines in the world under $25, and see how his reviews stack up. Here are the three wines discussed today, with links to additional information: 2009 Barbera D’Alba from Andrea […]
Today’s video talks about how French wines can often vary greatly year to year. The wine used as an example is Domaine Grand Veneur Clos Sixte Lirac, and the differences between the 2006, 2007 and 2009 vintages. Lirac is a region in the southern Rhone area of France, very close to the more famous Chateauneuf […]
Last weekend Gabriele and I took a drive to the outskirts of Fairfax for dinner at Villa Mozart. We’d been in a bit of a “favorite restaurant” rut, and someone I met through work recommended the restaurant highly. The restaurant is small and quaint, and there is an atmosphere of fine dining from the moment […]
Here’s my second installment of Parente on Parker, with me reviewing some of Robert Parker’s picks of the world’s best wine values $25 or less. Today I’m discussing two Pinot Noirs that we definitely do not see agree on. I then suggest two others that are really good and should have been included in his […]
Welcome to a new feature on Work, Wine and Wheels. Periodically I’ll be looking at selections from Robert Parker’s “The World’s Best Wine Values Under $25,” and comparing his notes to mine. It should be fun for me and (I hope) entertaining and informative for my readers. The two wines reviewed below are the 2008 […]
Recently Gabriele and I celebrated our anniversary in Key West, Florida. The most enjoyable dinner we had was at a relatively new place recommended by a discerning client of mine, Blackfin Bistro. We dined there early in the week, and snagged a table right near the door. So the pageantry of Duval street filtered by […]
Last weekend Gabriele took me to Brabo’s Tasting Room in Old Town to celebrate my birthday. The Brabo restaurant next door didn’t have any tables available, and my friend and fellow wine lover Anglea told me she had a good time at the Tasting room. The room had a great vibe when we walked in […]
Here are links for the three wines I talk about below: Napa Wine Co. 2007 Zinfandel Anciano Gran Reserva 2000 Tempranillo 2008 Wallace by Ben Glaetzer If you try any of these out, please drop a comment with your take.
Gabriele and I headed west on the Little River Turnpike Saturday night and ate at the Foxfire Grill. Some restaurants make you feel as if they will do anything to make their customers happy. We definitely got that vibe from Foxfire, and had a very nice experience. It’s located in a shopping center just before […]
Gabriele and I just got back from a quick getaway to the Shenandoah Valley, renting a cabin we’ve been to a few times before. I wrote a post last year about the great time we had, and this visit was again just what the doctor ordered. Last year we didn’t realize that downtown Front Royal […]
This past Saturday night Gabriele and I celebrated Valentine’s Day at Vermilion in Old Town, Alexandria. Technically of course we were two days early, but it looked like a lot of couples were doing the same thing. I was late calling the restaurant, so we didn’t have a reservation. When I called and spoke to […]