 about andrea robinson
Andrea Robinson, one of the country's leading wine educators, is one of only 16 women in the world who have been appointed Master Sommelier by the prestigious Court of Master Sommeliers. She was the first woman ever chosen Best Sommelier in the United States by the Sommelier Society of America. Andrea also became the first appointed Dean of Wine Studies for COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa in 2008.
Andrea's down-to-earth and energetic approach to wine as well as wine and food pairings has helped demystify the subject for hundreds of thousands of consumers and beverage professionals across the globe, helping to make wine less intimidating and more approachable. Dispensing with the obscure and hard-to-find wines covered by so many critics and wine guides, she showcases the most popular and available wines in stores and restaurants.
Andrea's first book, Great Wine Made Simple, was a James Beard Award nominee and quickly established her as one of America's top wine writers. Andrea’s Wine Buying Guide for Everyone (published in 2002 and updated annually), is a staple for wine lovers everywhere.
On Borders program, Delicious Life, Andrea and her husband John explore great restaurants, visits wineries and vineyards, and samples recipes from some of America’s favorite cookbooks.
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bargain bubble
Italian Prosecco was last year's hot bargain bubbly, but this year I think Spain's cava sparkling wines have them beat on the two most important fronts - price and flavor.
Depending on where you live, great cavas are often half the price of Prosecco, and they are easily double the flavor, too. The reason is that they are produced with the same painstaking method as French Champagne and great American sparklers, with a second fermentation in the bottle that gives you bubbles and more. That's because as the fermentation progresses, the yeasts break down, creating all kinds of new aromatics and flavors in the process.
Aria Cava Brut from Segura Viudas, and Paul Cheneau Brut, remain two of my all-time favorites. More recently I've come to love a new crop of rosado (the Spanish word for rose) cavas, for tremendous complexity, cherry fruit and spice that drinks like a wine, so it's a beautiful, festive and perfect-pair choice for holiday meals. Two to look for are Freixenet Brut de Noirs Rosado and Codorniu Pinot Noir Rose. I tasted the Codorniu blind against French rose Champagne and it was just as good - wow.
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Posted Thursday, Februrary 12, 2009 |
