Holidays
May 9, 2012, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
As we get set to celebrate Mother’s Day, the following gift ideas are especially nice for wine lovers— sure to bring a smile and may be enjoyed all year. All of us at Montesquieu Winery wish mothers everywhere a most Happy Mother’s Day!
Unique wine accessories make festive gifts. Some fun ideas include flower wine glass charms, wine bottle stoppers or bottle bags or totes, all which may be used throughout the year. Present with a bottle (or more!) of mom’s favorite wine for a lovely and delicious presentation. Candle holders (like the one pictured below) designed to fit the neck of a wine bottle are a fun way to remember a special bottle—just insert, add a candle and voila! For handmade bottle bags and totes see Etsy, and for more artsy wine charms see 47 Gems. View Full Post
February 13, 2012, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
Ahhh romance…here at Montesquieu Winery we love to celebrate, and Valentine’s Day is a favorite. Who can resist the classic pairing of love and wine? Not us!
As we celebrate this year, we’d like to share some delicious pairings for some of our favorite Montesquieu Wines—we raise a glass to love, romance and delectable wines!
In water one sees one’s own face. But in wine, one beholds the heart of another…French proverb
In this spirit we share our winemaker Hélène Mingot‘s idea of the ideal romantic pairing:
“For me the perfect tête-à-tête wine is our Moulin du Paradis paired with a beef stew if it is raining, or paired with duck breast or beef entrecôte grilled outside on a vine-wood fire. We gather the canes from pruning and burn them in our outdoor barbecue, pruning is always in season for Valentine’s Day. Start with our Gabriel Simon Grand Cru Champagne and a duo of fresh and smoked salmon. French wines are the best to celebrate love! But I am French, so I’m not very objective!” View Full Post
December 31, 2011, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
We at Montesquieu Winery wish everyone a most Happy New Year! Reflecting back on 2011, it has been such an eventful year full of unique and wonderful wine adventures including our first Montesquieu Grand Cru Champagne, the release of our coveted 2007 Derenoncourt California wines, our first Juntarse from the Uco Valley co-produced with Michel Rolland, our developing relationship with Doc Hendley and his team at Wine to Water and so much more!
Our journey to make and find truly distinctive wines has taken us around the world and back again, and we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the relationships old and new that make it all happen! So we raise a glass to you wine lovers everywhere– clients, winemakers, wine brokers and all–we value your part in making our community so vibrant, cheers!
May your enjoyment of wine among friends and family highlight the best of times, soothe the edges of challenges and bring a smile and spring to your step as we look forward to 2012!
Happy New Year to all!
November 25, 2011, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
As we enjoy leftovers and reflect on our Thanksgiving celebrations—savoring quality time with friends and family sharing delicious dishes and favorite wines—we would like to be sure to say thank you to all the wonderful people that make up our Montesquieu Winery community.
Thank you to our clients all over the country, who have joined us on our journey of discovering and drinking some of the world’s most delicious and exciting wines. We are privileged to work with you, to get to know you and your preferences and share each other’s stories as we seek to enhance quality of life through the appreciation and enjoyment of wine. We are constantly inspired hearing how our wines have been a part of your lives; being a part of your wine experience is very meaningful to us! View Full Post
November 17, 2011, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
2005 Hospices de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Cuvee Boillot
With Thanksgiving just a week away, we would like to share some traditions and recipes from past Thanksgivings with some of our favorite Montesquieu Wines, plus a few tips for including wines in some of your cooking. Wines as well as spirits make a wonderful layering component for flavor when added to various dishes! And of course, as W.C. Fields said best, “ I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” So open a bottle of one of your favorites, and enjoy these recommendations and this delectable holiday! View Full Post
October 21, 2011, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
A lovely bottle of wine makes a great gift any time of year. As we approach the holidays, there are more occasions than ever to remember friends, family, clients and colleagues with that special gift. What we at Montesquieu Winery have found is that everyone gets especially excited about our etched bottles, and with good reason! Not only are the wines delicious, but the elegant custom designs create a lasting impression. View Full Post
July 2, 2011, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
Happy Birthday America! Independence Day is upon us, the Fourth of July- the day in 1776 that the wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress.
The eloquent second sentence of the Declaration shines and endures, one of the most celebrated and revered of American history:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Ahh, the pursuit of happiness. One of the many great things about our country is that we provide people the freedom to choose their path to happiness. No matter the challenges we face and the many issues that warrant change or improvement, the fact remains how very fortunate we are! View Full Post
February 12, 2011, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
Love and wine is a timeless pairing. As Valentine’s day is upon us, we feel inspired to share some ideas to celebrate. After all, it turns out that given a choice, almost 60% would prefer to receive a bottle of wine over a box of chocolate. Imagine if the survey was given to just wine lovers—it is safe to say the response would have likely been 100%.
In our opinion every conceivable Valentine’s Day idea will be enhanced by a special bottle of wine. Here are some ideas that are on deck with some of us here at Montesquieu:
“Nothing says love like Eiswein-filled strawberries dipped in chocolate.” View Full Post
December 30, 2010, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
Bigger Really IS Better
As we all prepare to ring in the New Year, lavish menus and special bottles of wine abound. One of the most popular highlights this time of year for wine lovers’ celebrations is the impressive large-format bottle. What is all the buzz about? If you have ever watched the look on people’s faces when a host or hostess enters the room with a Magnum (or larger!) of wine, the mood electrifies and even the most veteran wine lovers’ eyes shine with anticipation.
Nothing makes an impression quite like opening a large-format bottle. But it isn’t all hype. There are many reasons why these impressive bottles make sense, beyond the “wow” factor.
Ullage, Oxidation and the Fountain of Youth
First, and most importantly, the consensus in the industry is that wine in large-format bottles tastes consistently better, and has a longer cellar life. Wine changes over time as a result of the chemical process of oxidation. There’s a small amount of oxygen trapped inside every wine bottle in the gap between the level of liquid and the cork. This space is called ullage. A big wine bottle has less oxygen relative to the volume of wine, which means that the wine oxidizes more slowly. This slower process translates into a graceful evolution of the wine, which brings out dimensions and qualities not found in the same wine in a standard bottle. View Full Post
December 13, 2010, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday—it encompasses tradition, gratitude, family, friends, quality time with people that matter. But what would Thanksgiving be without that seemingly endless meal, paired with a collection of your favorite wines?
We at Montesquieu Winery are reflecting back on this year’s Thanksgiving feasts, reliving our favorite wines and some of our more successful pairings as we prepare for the next round of holiday parties and dinners. Although certain wines have developed a reputation for pairing particularly well with a Thanksgiving meal — Riesling, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, just to name a few — the truth is that any wine that was a hit at Thanksgiving will likely play beautifully through the rest of the holiday season and beyond!
Helpful Hints
But before remembering some of our Thanksgiving favorites, let’s highlight a few tips we’ve learned over the years that apply to serving wine at any festive occasion.
Feel free to take some license to experiment and enjoy. We believe there are no strict hard-and-fast rules. After all, everyone is different, with different tastes. Pairing food and wine should not require a PhD or cause anxiety. Here are some basic guidelines that are helpful, but more importantly, drink what you enjoy, and serve a variety that you think others will enjoy too!
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