Top Stories
A great new liquor store
On Saturday, 9/6, I headed down to Elkridge on a tip from a local beer expert that there is a new store with a fantastic selection of hard to find beers, in particular Belgian ales that cannot normally be found out side of Belgium! The liquor store is “the perfect pour” . It is in this shopping plaza at the intersection of 175 and 95, and though it is hard to find (the perfect pour name... [Read more...]
Maryland Events
Fall 2008 - Food and Wine Events in Maryland!
To have your event added for free, contact: Michael@foodandwineblog.com Wine Events: Sotto Sopra: A Taste Tour of Italy’s Wine Regions: Thursday, September 11th- 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Limited to 18 guests. $25 per person* (plus tax and gratuity) Reservations Required – 410 625... [Read more...]
Tasting Reports
Tasting Report: 7 Wines of the Loire Valley paired with Sushi
What wines go well with $360 worth of sushi? Well, for the 9 of us in attendance on Sunday at the Wine Club gathering (at Yamato Sushi- review to come), I think we’d agree that something from the Loire Valley (France)would work quite nicely. Overall we had a great time... [Read more...]
Greg's Corner
A great new liquor store
On Saturday, 9/6, I headed down to Elkridge on a tip from a local beer expert that there is a new store with a fantastic selection of hard to find beers, in particular Belgian ales that cannot normally be found out side of Belgium! The liquor store is “the perfect pour”... [Read more...]
Restaurant Reviews
My first Vietnamese food.
By: Greg B. After helping Asa move his things to a place in Brooklyn (which, by the way, smells like Peru), we went out in search of lunch. Jessica and Asa knew of a top secret, second China town nearby, so we set out in search of a Vietnamese place called “Nha Trang Palace”.... [Read more...]
Recipes
Food, Wine, Culture TV - Episode 8: Two easy seafood dishes and Italian White Wines
Food, Wine, Culture TV- The Real Episode 8: Today we’re making fried calamari and lobster which I pair with a couple white wines from Soave (Veneto, Italy) that I tasted in Episode 7 (here). Join me for a 12 minute journey into some great seafood and good wines! [Read... [Read more...]
Greg's Corner!
A great new liquor store
On Saturday, 9/6, I headed down to Elkridge on a tip from a local beer expert that there is a new store with a fantastic selection of hard to find beers, in particular Belgian ales that cannot normally be found out side of Belgium! The liquor store is “the perfect pour” . It is in this shopping plaza at the intersection of 175 and 95, and though it is hard to find (the perfect pour name isn’t on the storefront, it just says ‘liquor’ or something) it is well worth the effort.
Italian Night in an American’s Household
So, Mike has tasted the finer things of Italy, the good proscuitto and he has rated and drank many fine Italian wines and even toured the countryside finding delicious things to eat or drink. For now, however, I am home bound. However I do sometimes get caught up in the good, simple foods from Italy, and last night I made two of them: Chicken cutlets and Risotto. Below are my basic recipes for simple Italian goodness (with my own twists).
Homemade Catawba Wine, part 2.
A good wine has a nice balance of flavor, color and aroma, though many factors contribute to the ‘flavor’. The mouth-feel of the wine, the bitterness, sweetness, how sour it tastes or how these flavors work together (Is there umami flavor in wine?). In order to contribute to the sour or sharp aspect of a wine, the proper acidity must be maintained and in order to do so, some simple chemistry must be done, with ease from an acid titration kit
Most Read Articles
A short note on QPR
What is QPR?
A wines Quality to Price Ratio (QPR) is an assessment of a wines value based on the ratio of how good the wine is to how much it costs. Wines with high QPR exhibit good value and are generally recommended (the quality of the wine warrants its price). In contrast, a low QPR wine isn’t unnecessarily a bad wine, just one that isn’t worth the money.
QPR based wine ratings are used either in place of, or along side, traditional numerical ratings. These tend to give consumers a better idea of whether a wine is worth the price. For instance, I would purchase what I feel is an 89 point wine if it was $15. This is a good quality for the price. Take that same wine, and put it at $25, and to me (and many people), it’s no longer worth it. With thousands of other wines avaialable, I’m better off seeking out another bottle of wine before spending this much on what I would consider 89 points. [Read more...]
Drink wine and you get shrinkage - of your hippocampus! (Overview of a recent study and rant on the media and science)
I was holding off on commenting on this study until I reveal a project I’m working on, but so many wine blogs out there have talked about it, I feel like adding my $0.02.
As you may be aware, I am a medical researcher who spends countless hours each week studying the hippocampus. Each day I take little glass electrodes and place them on brain cells in the rodent hippocampus observing changes in cellular calcium and electrical current in response to glutamate (excitatory neurotransmitter) stimulation that I control with a laser. My research has implications in memory and epilepsy. As a neuroscientist studying the hippocampus and a wine enthusiast, the recent topic of the effects of wine on the hippocampal volume hits pretty close to home.
Here is my overview of the study (I’m trying to not be too technical here - please leave a comment with questions): [Read more...]
FWB.TV
Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode10: Part2- Mike vs. Greg “The Showdown”
Food, Wine, Culture TV: In Episode 10-Part 1 Michael invited beer expert and close friend Greg Bissonette to come by for a beer vs. wine with mussels tasting. Well in this episode, the mussels are ready, the beers and wines are poured, and the boys are ready to duel- Beer vs. Wine. Greg vs. Mike- The SHOWDOWN! Who’s pairing is the best match? You’re going to have to watch to find out!
Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 10: Beer (Greg) vs. Wine (Mike)- Mussels Part I
Beer vs. Wine. Mussels vs. Mussels. Michael vs. Greg. Good vs. Evil..well you get the picture. Today Michael has friend and beer expert Greg Bissonette over for a friendly dual of mussels paired with beer and wine. Don’t forget to check back for Part II- “The Battle Continues”!
(Main image credits: wikipeida.org commons: Photograph taken by Mark A. Wilson (Department of Geology, The College of Wooster). [1]) [Read more...]
Episode-9: The Wines of Henry’s Drive
Food, Wine, Culture TV- Episode 9: I recently had a chance to have dinner with the very talented wine maker Renae Hirsch- the newest wine maker at well known producer Henry’s Drive in the Padthaway region of Southeast Australia. I was very impressed with Renae’s passion and love of wine and good food, and look forward to watching her integrate her style, personality into the wines of Henry’s Drive. Today I have chosen three of my favorites to talk about. So please join me as I taste through the wines of Henry’s Drive and tell the story of where the vineyard gets its name!
(main image credit: Original uploader was Mfunnell at en.wikipedia) [Read more...]
Food, Wine, Culture TV - Episode 8: Two easy seafood dishes and Italian White Wines
Food, Wine, Culture TV- The Real Episode 8: Today we’re making fried calamari and lobster which I pair with a couple white wines from Soave (Veneto, Italy) that I tasted in Episode 7 (here). Join me for a 12 minute journey into some great seafood and good wines!
Baltimore, MD
Fall 2008 - Food and Wine Events in Maryland!
To have your event added for free, contact: Michael@foodandwineblog.com
Wine Events:
- Sotto Sopra: A Taste Tour of Italy’s Wine Regions: Thursday, September 11th- 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Limited to 18 guests. $25 per person* (plus tax and gratuity) Reservations Required – 410 625 0534
http://sottosoprainc.blogspot.com/2008/08/tour-of-italys-wine-regions-with.html - Harford Friends School: A Taste of Excellence: November 9th 2008: Great wines from around the world for a good cause! Live music, silent auction and more. Definitely worth attending!
Dining Events:
- MORTON’S THE STEAKHOUSE CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAY SEASON BY OPENING FOR LUNCH ON SIX DAYS IN DECEMBER: Annapolis Restaurant Opens for Lunch on December 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, and 19. The Annapolis restaurant, which normally opens nightly for dinner service (except for private functions), is offering à la carte holiday lunches on Wednesdays, December 10 and 17, Thursdays, December 11 and 18, and Fridays, December 12 and 19, from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Valet parking is available. For more information or to make reservations (required), call 410-280-1170 or visit www.mortons.com. Morton’s is closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Food Events:
Harbor East Farmers Market Events: The market is located between the Inner Harbor and Fells Point on the 1000 block of Lancaster Street (between South Exeter Street & Central Avenue).
Hours: Saturdays, 9:00am-1:00pm, through October 25th, 2008.
- Saturday, September 6th: Chef at Market, Kevin Miller of Ixia at 11:00am. Making Butternut Squash Risotto with Mascarpone & Crispy Sage
- Saturday, September 13th: BUGS Kids from Living Classrooms Foundation at Market and Whole Foods Kids’ Activities
- Saturday, September 20th: Sofi’s Crepes at Market
- Saturday, September 27th: Chef at Market, Kerry Dunnington, Chef & Author, at 11:00am. Recipe TBD
- Saturday, October 11th: BUGS Kids from Living Classrooms Foundation at Market and Whole Foods Kids’ Activities
- Saturday, October 18th: Chef at Market, John Shields, Chef/Owner of Gertrude’s at the BMA, at 11:00am. Recipe TBD
Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 4: Tuesday, August 19 2008- The Wine News Show Inaugural Episode!
Still working out sound with the new microphone and did this show solo (no cameraman!), but here’s the first episode of the Monday (a day late) Wine News Show! If you have news worthy you’d like to see broadcast, please send to Michael@foodandwineblog.com.
Enjoy 
Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 3- Food, wine, culture TV- Wine News Show! This first episode features Michael Mohammadi of foodandwineblog.com giving an overview of many of the top headlines in the wine world over the last week. Unedited and unscripted, the once-per-week show will take on issues from wine politics and wine region weather to new restaurants and wine gossip. Tune in to this first (rough!) episode and please come back for more! [Read more...]
Episode 10-Part II: Beer vs. Wine- the verdict!
Episode 10-Part I: Beer vs. Wine- Battle Mussels!
Episode 9: The Great Wines of Henry's Drive
