… and why you should drink Albariño year-round. One of my favorite white wines to drink with a variety of foods is Albariño. I’m constantly writing about it and hailing it as a versatile food wine, explaining to folks that it can pair with anything from salads, to seafood, chicken, pasta, and pizza. There’s a…
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BBQ Corner (part 14) – Why you should grill year-round
Summer’s Come and Gone By contributing writer Sean, aka “the hubby” I always feel a bit sad after Labor Day. The BBQ “season” and nice weather begin to wane. Leaves start to turn colors, fall cleaning and winterizing occurs, and thus the summer and barbecue season “officially” comes to an end. It’s a bummer to…
Horse Heaven Hills Wine Region — a preview
A few weeks back hubs and I ventured into the desert in search of… wine. No I’m not talking about Arizona, where I’m originally from. I’m talking about Washington State. But isn’t the Pacific Northwest all green and rainy? Nope. Once you venture over the Cascade Mountain range an entirely different landscape opens up to you….
Exploring Cabernet Franc — Cornerstone Cellars
I first knew of Craig Camp, of Cornerstone Cellars, several years ago through the Wine Bloggers Conference, but our paths never crossed. I’m not sure why. It wasn’t until, several years later, through the introduction by a mutual friend, Thea, that I was officially introduced to Craig and able to taste a few of the…
Different Styles of BBQ Sauces
A rundown of the major styles of BBQ and regional sauces and what they are good for. I love being asked what my style of BBQ is, for a couple reasons. I find it an opportunity to gauge how much that person really understands styles, and why it matters (or doesn’t). To be candid, if…
Friday Favorites – Sunny days are here again
A roundup of my favorite things from the week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. Happy Friday! This has to go down as the greatest week (weather wise) we’ve had all year (that is if you’re okay with temperatures spiking into 90’s, which I totally am). It was gorgeous. To make matters…
Friday Favorites – Touring Oregon Wine Country
A weekly roundup of my favorite things this week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. Since returning to Oregon I’ve tried to immerse myself in Pacific Northwest wines, specifically on understanding the intricacies of each wine-growing region. This week I had the opportunity to spend some time focusing on two different regions…
What we’ve been drinking
I recently attended two fantastic events showcasing Northwest wines. First, at Taste Washington in Seattle, and second (and closer to my own backyard) the Columbia Gorge Winegrowers Grand Tasting in Portland. In addition, I’ve opened several standout wines at home recently that I’ve wanted to share. So I decided to highlight some of the best…
The 2014 Oregon Chardonnay Symposium – What is the future of Oregon Chardonnay?
One thing I learned this past weekend is that Oregon Chardonnay is definitely not your mother’s Chardonnay… that is of course, unless your mother drinks super clean, vibrant, Chardonnays with remarkable acidity and a very promising future. Over the weekend winemakers, press, and Chardonnay lovers gathered at the gorgeous Stoller Family Estate for the third…
More Sparkling Wines for New Years
Recent articles and stand out bubbles… I’ve had bubbles on the mind all month. Big shock I know. I spent several weeks researching new sparkling wines for an article recently published in Serious Eats all about the best sparkling wines under $20 for holiday parties and New Years. Needless to say I was thrilled at…
Friday Favorites – Celebrating a big announcement, and a special Oregon-themed giveaway!
This is a special edition of Friday Favorites here on the blog. Instead of listing out all of my favorite discoveries of the week like I usually do, this news encompasses all four Friday Favorite themes. Plus I have a special giveaway to go with this week’s announcement! This past weekend my husband and I announced…
New Gems … and branching out in Carlton, Oregon
Having lived in Oregon for five years I never spent much time in the town of Carlton, located less than an hour away. Upon a recent trip during the annual Wine Bloggers Conference, I had the opportunity to spend two days there courtesy of the Carlton Business Association. And boy, did I kick myself for…
Riesling for all palates from Chateau Ste. Michelle
The Pacific Northwest arguably produced some of the country’s best Rieslings. Living in the region I was fortunate to be surrounded by many small producers who made some of the best examples of this wine. I was spoiled. Now, living in the opposite side of the country, I no longer have the same accessibility to…
Pacific Rim 2008 Dry Riesling – A great new value wine
So there I was last night, minding my own business. It was just an average Monday night. We forgot to pre-plan our dinner for the evening so we defaulted to Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken (I know, it happens. I’m almost embarrassed to admit but we do this at least once a month)…. In my…
2011 Wine Bloggers Conference – WBC moves east.
I have just returned from Charlottesville, Virginia and the North American Wine Bloggers Conference with a full mind, a tired brain, and some great memories. The conference is now in its fourth year, and I’ve had the fortune of attending all but the first one; previous cities include Sonoma, CA and Walla Walla, WA. This…
Chardonnays that will keep you warm this winter
It’s true. I drink white wine in the winter. A lot of it actually. And I know I’m not the only one. My friend Ryan even has a whole website devoted strictly to white wines from the Pacific Northwest because he too is a year round fan (check it out!). There’s something about drinking white…
A few of my favorite things: Portland edition
Moving day is here. As of next week I will be officially living on the opposite side of the country. As I wrap up my time in Portland I thought I would share some of the many places and things that I will miss the most. In the five years that we lived here I…
2010 Wine Bloggers Conference, part 1… and what inspired me the most.
I've just returned from four days in Walla Walla, Washington, for the third annual Wine Bloggers Conference. This was my second conference, with the last one being held in Napa and Sonoma and I was thrilled when I heard the 2010 conference would be held in the Northwest, my home. I learned a vast amount of information and…
Winery Spotlight: Phelps Creek Vineyards, Hood River OR
In a continued series of winery spotlights in the Columbia Gorge and furthering my article in the Gorge Guide, below is a snapshot of the winery, their story and their wines. Make a point to visit and add your experience as a comment. Cheers! Phelps Creek Vineyards, Hood River, Oregon In 1989 Bob Morus moved…
Looking back on a year of blogging
Today marks the one-year anniversary since I’ve been blogging on this site! Okay, it's not exactly one year "today" (March 2nd), it was actually two days ago while I was in Napa, hence the tardiness… but then again I have always been notoriously late for celebrating birthdays (even for my own blog). So, better late then…
Chef Mavro
… And one of my first major food epiphanies. I’ve had a couple of food epiphanies in my life, but none more memorable than my first experience at Chef Mavro in Honolulu. A few years ago while visiting the island of Oahu I quickly grew tired of the many overpriced mediocre dining options on Waikiki Beach where we…
Oregon Zinfandel to Pair With an Oregon Snow Storm!
This month for Wine Blogging Wednesday #65 wine bloggers were asked by Michelle Lentz from the blog Wine-Girl to write about “Snow Day Wines”: “I want you to look out your window and imagine Snow. Snowmen, snow balls, igloos, snow trucks, snow … cold, cold snow. Then I want you to imagine what that makes…
Winter Solstice & Celebration Worthy Wines
This month, for Wine Blogging Wednesday #64, wine bloggers were asked by Jeff “El Jefe” Stai of Twisted Oak Winery to write about the following theme: “Pick any winter holiday or observance EXCEPT Hanukkah, Christmas Day, Kwanzaa, or New Years Day or Eve, and choose a wine to celebrate it! For purposes of this WBW, the…
About Mary
My name is Mary Cressler and this is my blog. I am a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, writer, wine educator, and founder of Vindulge, Wine Education & Consulting — a wine consulting company focusing on enhancing the consumers wine experience through classes, seminars, private buying in addition to commercial consulting. I…
