The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

My interest in Bordeaux remains steady, especially after visiting in December 2008 . It's not a passionate love affair, but rather a respectful relationship. I acknowledge Bordeaux's stature and occasionally relish its company. For reds, invariably with a steak. For whites - salads, seafood, and poultry. And for sweets - foie gras or blue cheese - of course those being the classical combinations that assure success, though I always look for other eye-opening pairings, such as the one recommended by Xavier Planty of Chateau Guiraud - Sauternes and crab . A self-respecting wine lover cannot ignore Bordeaux and the grandeur its greatest red and sweet wines attain. And as a certified wino, I owe it to myself and my readers to maintain my Bordeaux "qualification". Which brings us to Bordeaux L'Ecole du Vin - the premiere wine school in Bordeaux that recently invited me among other members of the trade for a full-day advanced seminar in San Francisco. Bordeaux continues...

As we get older, birthdays, once glorious events of our childhood, no longer seem to have the same appeal. Instead of growing up, we just get older - what's there to celebrate?! So we downplay each year's advance, and reserve the occasions to round dates. But when those come around, we often find ourselves too swept up in the hurries, worries, chores and routines of our lives to really enjoy with our hearts and souls. Until this time. The Place Donato Enoteca - this is my new dining home outside of my wife's kitchen. This place which opened just several months ago in downtown Redwood City cannot be described in terms of yelp stars or carefully crafted food and wine adjectives. It's more like one of those places that you read about in memoirs of people recalling their mother's cooking in a small town in Italy when they were a kid. It's not what they feed or pour you there (which is phenomenal, of course), but it's how it makes you feel when you are there, a...