The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

Earlier this year I was invited by the Millbrae Community TV to film an episode about pairing wine with Chinese food. The show aired in two parts during the Labor Day weekend on September 1 and 2, 2012. For the shoot, I had selected a sparkling Cremant de Bourgogne rosé (from Burgundy), a Gruner Veltliner (from Austria), a Cote du Rhone (from South of France), a Cru Beaujolais (France), and a German Riesling. Hope you enjoy this 10-min show.

This interview conducted by Millbrae Community TV with yours truly at the Millbrae Arts & Wine Festival aired live on September 3, 2011 on local Bay Area cable. The topic of conversation was "Pairing wine with Chinese cuisines".

For the pre-baby party at Domaine du Chevsky, my friend Chef Hector (technology architect by day, and chef and wino extraordinaire by weekend) cooked up a storm. Two incredible paellas that make me salivate just thinking of them a week later! Seafood - with mussels, squid, shrimp and chorizo sausage. The aromas of ocean and saffron and toasty rice beckoned. Incredible paella. Perfect with a sparkling Italian rosé from De Faveri (we killed almost a case). And the meat paella - with beef shank, pork ribs, and blood sausage. Blood sausage? Hell yeah! Out of this world - amazing! Excellent with a Cotes du Rhone from the ever-reliable St. Cosme (2009, 3 magnums gone quickly). I could have gone all traditional Spanish with wine - with Rioja and such, but somehow sparkling rosé from Italy and a deep Cotes du Rhone from Southern France felt more festive. But for purists, Riojas and Vinho Verde were on hand ("under the counter"). I poured the Cotes du Rhone blind, and the cr...

Aruba Jamaica ooh I wanna take ya Bermuda Bahama come on pretty mama Key Largo Montego baby why don't we go... Off Ramona street in Palo Alto, there's a place called Coconuts . That's where you wanna go to get away from it all! (remember Beach Boys?) Oh those hearty delicious Caribbean flavors! Makes me feel on vacation every time. They have "di small tings", "di big tings", all kinds of "tings" :)! The place is perfect for family style eating, and passing a magnum around like in a communal wine. The wine pairing is not always easy with that jerk-laden, spicy, peppery, limey, sweet, beany, and all-kinds-of-other-flavors filled cuisine. But the 2009 Saint Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone 100% Syrah-based magnum tames those "tings" like a crusty old cowboy. The wine basically tastes like the liquid version of the Caribbean food - hearty, spicy, sweet-and-sour, thick and satisfying. Not sophisticated (and you can hardly expect that from a basic Cote...

Guys, wondering what to do to impress the ladies? Step 1. Grow your own heirloom tomatoes. Step 2. Invite the ladies. (can't help you here). Step 3. Make a bruschetta according to my friend Ash's method. Cut up tomatoes from step 1, add a little chopped garlic, basil, extra virgin olive oil, chilies, and salt. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes...then spoon on top of toasted (preferably on the charcoal grill) sliced rustic bread. Step 4. Serve with a wine that has enough sweetness (or ripeness) to counter the spice of the bruschetta, and enough tang to keep it lively. A 2009 Cotes du Rhone from Chateau St. Cosme that runs about $12, hits the spot. Bright, balanced, rich wine, it's a baby Chateauneuf-du-Pape without the sophistication and the price tag. This producer churns out excellent values out of Southern Rhone year in and year out, the just released 2009 vintage being no exception. I imagine many of the bolder Italian wines such as Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, ...