Posts Written OnJanuary 27, 2006

Despite the warmer-than-usual temperatures we’ve been enjoying lately, this time of year calls out for comfort foods — especially roasts and stews. They fill our kitchens with warming, alluring aromas and pair wonderfully with hearty local red wines. Unfortunately, it seems like most of the East End’s recent releases are white wines — either chardonnays with a couple years of bottle age that are finally ready for release, or fresh, young aromatic whites like riesling or steel-fermented Chardonnay. Thankfully Laurel Lake Vineyards and winemaker, Claudio Zamorano, have bucked that trend, recently releasing two reds and an ice wine. The Laurel…

Holly Howell, wine columnist for the Democrat and Chronicle, has been named director of education at the New York Wine & Culinary Center, a$7.5 million center, backed by corporate, university and government sponsors, that is expected to open this summer in Canandaigua. Holly comes from a family of food lovers and her parents run their own cooking school. She also teaches food and wine classes at Wegmans, RIT and Casa Larga Vineyards.