In the middle of this very long and snowy winter that we are having, it seems like a good time to talk about the wonderful region of Provence. Just uttering the word conjures up images of sunny vineyards, beautiful landscapes and dry, crisp rosé wines.

Provence has a very long and interesting history. The city of Marseilles was founded by the Greeks in 600 BC and it is believed that vineyards were most likely planted soon after. We think that the tradition of making rosé wines in Provence started with the Greeks and that by the time the Romans moved in, the region’s reputation for light wines was well established.

Last week I found myself sitting at an airport restaurant waiting for a delayed flight. There was a basketball game on, so I decided to kill some time and sit at the bar, have a beer, and catch part of the game. The man next to me, who was waiting for the same flight, overheard my cheering (Duke was playing NC State), and we struck up a conversation.

Naturally, the conversation eventually turned to jobs and he asked me what I do. Upon finding out that I work as a wine educator, his reaction was a very interesting one. He told me that he and his wife love wine, although they …

Well, the results are in and I have to say, you all had some terrific recommendations. If you don’t remember, recently I wrote about a couple I had met at a tasting who were planning their honeymoon to France and needed some help picking out where to go.

Here are some of my favorite recommendations:

From Alice: “Bordeaux – there is a wonderful domaine out past St Emilion, where there is a 17th century dovecote on the property and you can stay there and help with the harvest. The owners are great people, too. And, of course, for sight-seeing, history, food, etc. the region is hard to beat!”

From Francesca: …

Maybe it is because we are just about at the one month to go mark, but today I have received no less than 10 different emails advertising gifts for Valentine’s Day. I find the ones from the various jewelry stores I am on the lists of somewhat amusing. After all, what am I supposed to do with those – forward them to my husband by accident?

I’ll be honest – I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day. I’ve tried to discourage my husband from buying me flowers on the 14th of February (or Mother’s Day for that matter) since the prices are so much higher than usual. I prefer to …

I came across a very cool piece of news today: archaeologists have discovered the earliest known winery in the mountains of Armenia – and it dates back about 6000 years. Although evidence has been found that indicates wine was around even before then, this is the oldest example of what appears to be a “complete winery.” In a cave complex researchers discovered a vat, fermentation jars, a cup and a drinking bowl – all of which they believe points to the cave being a site of wine production. Further supporting this idea is that they found a wide, shallow basin and a vat and they were positioned in such a way as to …