Living | Megan J. Headley

 Grapes get their due credit when it comes to wine, but with blends, it’s all about the winemaker

Living | Megan J. Headley

I rarely take a night off from wine. But after sampling Jefferson Vineyard’s Meritage 2010 trial blends (more on that next week) on a usually hot summer afternoon, I was looking forward to refreshing my purple palate at a Virginia beer dinner at the Clifton Inn, hosted by Beer Run. Knowing that the beers would [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

 As of last Friday, wine drinkers have another cellar to choose from when dining at a restaurant: their own. The newly passed “Corkage Bill” allows restaurants with liquor licenses to serve a wine brought by a customer for a fee set by the restaurant. Legislators see BYOB as incentive for consumers to dine out in [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

Just back from a week at the beach and already I miss the ocean’s cool breeze, briny smell and salty taste. On the bright side, I’ve found a wine that captures these sun-drenched glories of summer at the beach: Albariño.

Living | Megan J. Headley

Sometimes I wish that summer’s bounty could be spread out over the course of the year. It’s a futile and selfish wish, but I feel pressure to eat myself into oblivion during the growing season and spend more time than I ought to figuring out how many fruits, vegetables and herbs I can consume in [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

Matt Bressan’s only complaint about the pickle business is that he’s always being compared to people’s grandmothers. “Grandmothers’ recipes come up a lot when people taste my bread and butter pickles,” he says, “but they still buy mine.” Craving cukes? Nab a freshly grown few at the City Market. Fresh Crunch Pickles, which make the [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

The time-honored symbols of the good life, champagne and caviar, haven’t gotten much play since the days of “Dynasty” and Robin Leach. Perhaps we’re not as ostentatious as we were then, or maybe we just can’t afford such luxuries anymore.

Living | Megan J. Headley

We know what Pliny the Elder meant when he wrote “in vino veritas”—give someone wine and he’ll spill the beans. However, in this age of information overload, I prefer it to mean that the wine itself holds the truth. But, with all of our blogging, Facebook posting, podcasting, tweeting and re-tweeting, are we so busy [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

The alcohol in wine has been causing quite a buzz lately, and not just the kind that makes you want to hug everyone. One of the hottest issues in the industry these days is wine’s rising ABV (alcohol by volume). Certainly not a new trend, alcohol levels have been climbing for decades. However, some recent [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

Poor Gray Pinot. This grape with two names and two personalities is so misunderstood. It originated in France (where it’s called Pinot Gris) as a natural mutation of Pinot Noir. When it made its way into northern Italy, it became Pinot Grigio. If that were the extent of its differences, we could call the whole [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

  The carefree days of summer are finally within reach and unless you still get summers off, you’ll be living for the weekends when you can entertain in flip-flops and without having to clean your house. Building a basic bar from scratch is a bit of an investment, but just think how much you’re saving [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

With House Resolution 1161 (which would place a ban on shipments from out-of-state retailers) rearing its buzz-killing head again, now is the time to buy wine online while it’s still just a double click away.

Living | Megan J. Headley

She birthed me and raised me and most certainly deserves a hassle-free glass of caramel popcorn if that’s what she likes.

Living | Megan J. Headley

Sharing. It’s the first lesson we learn as kids and we’re usually pretty good at it by the time we’re of drinking age. Wine has always been a beverage intended to share—to do otherwise would seem terribly selfish, not to mention intoxicating. Suggest sharing a beer with someone, though, and you’re likely to get ridiculed. [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

Made from the same vinifera grapes as fine wines, today’s kosher wines offer a level of quality and selection that will surprise you and your matzo ball soup.

Living | Megan J. Headley

Five northwestern members—Glass House, Montfair, Moss, Stinson and White Hall vineyards—have branched off with a mini trail (cleverly named The Appellation Trail), giving tourers a day-trip destination for tasting quality wines that come with personalized attention and beautiful surroundings.

Living | Megan J. Headley

When a 200-year-old bottle treats you to everything from dried apricots to molasses to dark chocolate yet tastes as fresh and alive as a 20-year-old bottle, you can understand why Madeira-lovers hoard their vintage bottles.

Living | Megan J. Headley

“Les Rials” (pronounced “lay ree-all”) is produced in the red wine-dominated Côtes du Tarn, nestled amidst the Pyrenees in Gaillac, France’s oldest wine-producing region.

Living | Megan J. Headley

When I really want to delve into a person’s soul, I ask him what he would have as his final meal on earth. My answer? Pizza and wine. Just writing it sends a shiver down my spine. What makes this prosaic combo so celestial for me? Well, I’m not talking your ordinary congealed-cheese, cardboard-crust slice [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

Here are some deliciously respectful ways to show winter the door.

Living | Megan J. Headley

It’s too late to celebrate in the Big Easy, but you can still live it up right here in Rivanna River City by spending today enjoying decadent, earthly pleasures—especially if Lenten restriction is in your future come tomorrow.

Living | Megan J. Headley

Dramatically termed the Barolo Wars, this debate is more Iron Chef than Axis of Evil, with French oak, shorter maceration periods, and rogue grape varietals as the employed weapons.

Living | Megan J. Headley

The mere mention of an after-dinner drink to an American seems to elicit queasy memories of a night ending with a White Russian or shot of Goldschläger and the harrowing hangover that followed; however, unlike these sweet and viscous drinks that add to your level of intoxication, taking you from comfortably content to grotesquely gorged, Europe’s bitter digestives actually subtract from your feeling of fullness.

Living | Megan J. Headley

In Europe, where eating is the evening’s main event, a drink served before dinner is de rigueur and the perfect way to prime your palate (and bloodstream) to the gustatory pleasures that lie ahead.

Living | Megan J. Headley

The start of a new year is a natural time to reflect upon your past year’s accomplishments. Perhaps you got a new job, lost weight, or quit smoking, but for wineries whose wines are biding time in the cellar before release, there is little concrete to reflect upon. The success of a vintage is projected [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

You’re down to the holiday shopping wire. Panic sets in and with a handful of Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons you choke your way through the cinnamon-scented store to buy a head massager and a brownie pan separator. And, with one trip down the wine aisle, you’re grabbing the Rabbit and the Vinturi Aerator for [...]

Living | Megan J. Headley

A wine so entwined with papal history seems an unlikely candidate to be as lusty and hedonistic as Châteauneuf-du-Pape.