The Thompson Kitchen

Approachable, everyday recipes

french

Hugo Spritz

by

I’m declaring this the summer of the Hugo spritz. Light and refreshing, it’s the perfect drink anytime of year but especially wonderful in the summer.

I had a Hugo spritz for the first time a few weeks at Novella, a great Italian restaurant in Powell. It was love at first sip. I immediately knew I had to buy some St-Germain and recreate it at home. With all this hype, I hope you like it as much as I do!

…

Read More

Picking the Perfect White Wine

by

David Sipress Cartoon from The New Yorker

Is anyone intimidated by white wine?  Red wine, sure, I feel like I kind of know what I’m talking about, or at least know what I like.  But white wine?  Forget about it.  I think my intimidation stemmed from not knowing much about it or finding a white wine I truly enjoyed.  Then it was 90 degrees out and suddenly I decided, this was the summer I was going to learn about white wine.

My first step was to go to my local wine store, The Twisted Vine and ask for help.  This was the best thing I did.  I told one of the owners my feelings on white wine and what I liked and didn’t like.  I don’t like Chardonnay because I don’t like the oaky-ness of it.  I don’t like Riesling because I don’t like super sweet wines.  And I don’t like Pinot Grigio because I don’t think it tastes like much.  Turns out I’m not alone.

The owner started asking me more questions and we came to the conclusion that I like white wines that are crisp and have mineral undertones.  This lead to my new found love of French white wines.  He suggested a few to try, all under $15 a bottle (score!).  I bought a few (or 6) bottles and began my “research.”  I can honestly say I enjoyed all the French white wines I took home.  More importantly, I’m not so intimidated by white wines anymore.  When I’m out to dinner I stick to the French whites, from a region I have had a few bottles from, and have continuously had good luck.

The process of finding wine you enjoy can be intimidating when it should be fun.  Here are some of my suggestions to finding wine you love:

  • Go to a wine store, or a wine shop within a larger grocery store, and find someone to help you.  Seriously, the people that work in the wine department want to help, and 9 times out of 10 they know what they’re talking about.
  • Identify flavors you like and don’t like, i.e. sweet, acidic, oak, citrus, etc.  This way you have a place to start the conversation with the person helping you.
  • When you find a wine you like, go back to where you got it and tell them, they should be able to help you find similar ones that you’ll also like.  Plus, the staff will eventually get to know your tastes and recommend new wines you haven’t even had a chance to ask about.
  • Don’t be afraid to try new things, including wine from small producers.

Cheers!