Eating the Demons Away

Tomorrow is Setsubun, a Japanese holiday that is akin to a New Year's celebration. There are a few rituals associated with this holiday which involve food. Will you be celebrating?

You can read much more about Setsubun in my latest article, Eating the Demons Away, on Palate Press. While you are there, you might also want to check out the ongoing Haiti for Wine auctions where you can get some great wine and give to a worthy cause.

Saké & Food Pairing Article

Do you know what foods best pair with Saké? You may not realize the diversity of Saké, which thus lends to its flexibility, allowing it to pair with a wide variety of foods.

For more information, please check out my new article "Saké does not get into fights with food" in the Palate Press. You will learn what is considered the "red wine" of Saké, which pairs well with spicy Thai, and much more.

While you are reading my article, you should also look at the other new articles in Palate Press too! You'll find articles covering topics such as Wine & Sulfites, the European Wine Blogger's Conference, and Beaujolais Nouveau 2009.

Palate Press Is Released!

PALATE PRESS: The online wine magazine has launched today and we hope this is the beginning of a fruitful endeavor. Palate Press is a collaborative effort of numerous wine and food writers from all over the world. It is not an aggregator but will contain much original content, spanning the entire realm of wine and food.

You will undoubtedly recognize many of the editors and contributors and can check out the complete list of editors here. I am honored to be on that list, as the Plus Food editor, handling the interactions of wine and food. Besides my editorial duties, I will also be contributing original articles to Palate Press.

Palate Press has contributors from all over the world, and also welcomes submissions from other wine writers too. Though many of the editors and contributors are wine bloggers, others are not, and include winemakers, retailers, sommeliers and professional wine writers. If you have something to say about wine, and can write a good article, then you too can be a part of Palate Press.

Articles on Palate Press are presented in seven distinct departments, or "Pages": Feature Story; The Wine Life; Spotlight; Hot Potato; + Food; Soap Box; and, starting in October, Wine Reviews. One benefit to Palate Press will be the ability of readers to comment on the stories they read, to engage in a dialogue with the writer and other readers.

So please check out Palate Press and give us our feedback. It is a new project, an experiment of sorts, and your feedback will help us make it better.