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All there is to sip and savor in New Orleans
Happy Hour

May 2011

Conquering NOWFE

05/26/11

Conquering NOWFE

Finding the best wines the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience, unfolding today through Saturday, will offer is not the same as dominating Everest, nor is it on the scale of winning the World Series or any race at the Fair Grounds.

But correctly and efficiently “doing” NOWFE Grand Tastings, of which there are two, does have some substantial rewards, one of which is explaining (OK, so it’s bragging) to your friends early next week what great wines you tasted and how you were able to enjoy a famous chef’s dish, even though it was gone within 30 minutes of the doors opening – and so was he.

As in all pursuits, there are “others” who simply seem to be better at this than you and me. Personally, I like a leisurely pace,...

Posted at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0
That Certain Spirit: Rum – and Tasting Time

05/19/11

That Certain Spirit: Rum – and Tasting Time

From time to time, Happy Hour will be focusing on a group of base spirits in hopes of encouraging you to learn more about what you like and to expand your tasting experiences.

A New Orleans summer, at least on paper, is not conducive to ingesting alcoholic beverages. Alcohol’s effect on the body is actually to raise the level of temperature. Ever heard of an Alpine St. Bernard finding a stranded hiker or skier and providing a cup of hot chocolate with a marshmallow? Nope, it’s a strong alcoholic beverage that is needed to bring  body temperature back up to respectable levels.

And because our summers do not rob us of any body temperature percentage deviating from 98.6 degrees, maybe drinking alcohol does not take us to our goal. Nah,...

Posted at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0
Heavy Lifting

05/12/11

Heavy Lifting

Although it would be an absolutely pleasurable pursuit, not to mention a most ambitious exercise, the average wine drinker simply cannot try every label on a retailer’s shelves. Great idea, but by the time the trials were completed, it would no doubt have to start again because vintages change and new releases are a constant in the never-stand-still world of wine.

Educated consumers soon learn to focus. Stay attuned to a region or a grape varietal or even a brand. Find something you like, and then stay with it – or with similar styles. But that can be boring and even denigrates one of the many advantages of enjoying wine. The variety and differences offered between one wine and the other are interesting, even compelling. Sticking to one is really at the...

Posted at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0
The Way We Are

05/05/11

The Way We Are

In one of the many memorable moments from the movie Animal House, during the hilarious road trip scenes, the upstanding young men of Delta Tau Chi fraternity and their dates drive to the Dexter Lake Club. In the club’s parking lot, upon emerging from Flounder’s massive borrowed Lincoln Continental, they discover the featured band playing that night is Otis Day and the Nights and proclaim: “Let’s go in. Otis loves us.”

Let me share with you what I know about our city and its residents: important people from all over the globe love us. We crave that love. We seek affirmation. Most of the time, we get it.

When we don’t receive that love, which is fortunately not too often, we wonder and become concerned. A front-page...

Posted at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1

About This Blog

Tim learned to appreciate wine from his wife-to-be, Brenda Maitland, and it has been a fascinating 35-year journey for the couple. Tim graduated from Jesuit College Prep in Dallas, then earned a journalism degree from the University of North Texas. He came to Louisiana because of his love of New Orleans, then fell in love with Brenda and simultaneously fell in love with all things wine.

Tim and Brenda travel the world with the grape and have made many friends because of wine. Tim is a past board member and two-term president of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience; former officer in the New Orleans chapter of Chaine des Rotisseurs; past president of the American Wine Society in New Orleans; and, with Brenda, currently serves on the board of the Museum of the American Cocktail. Tim lectures on wine and wine history twice each year at the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Auburn University, as well as judging professional wine competitions in California and Florida.

Tim writes a monthly feature about wine and spirits for New Orleans Magazine, and is a weekly contributor, writing about wine and spirits, to MyNewOrleans.com. He is also executive editor of Gulf Coast Wine + Dine Magazine, and hosts a two-hour weekly program, "The Wine Show," on WIST 690AM in New Orleans. Listen to "The Wine Show" every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  

Click HERE to listen to "The Wine Show."

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