Red snapper is a favorite among fish-eaters for its sweet, nutty flavor, and was, a number of years ago, overfished. The scarcity led some suppliers to mislabel other reddish fish as red snapper, but there’s a sure way you’ll always know you’re fishing in the right pond: buy it with the skin on and always check the eyes. Red snappers have bright red irises.

Pinot Noir is a variety of red wine grape, though it can be used in rosé wines, Champagne and even blended into some white wines as well. It is considered to produce some of the finest wines available.

Here is a little language lesson. The Italian verb, volere, means to wish, expect, need and require. That definition should be in Webster’s under “purse”! What better gift to give the lovely lady in one’s life...especially when it's filled with wine. Natalie Myers (aka Mrs. Poet) reviews the Volére wine purse just in time for the holidays.

What does wine add to family celebration? It captures memories through the senses. WineTable lifestyle writers William and Natalie Myers remember their best Thanksgiving as a blend of family, love and wine. 

It’s Thanksgiving, you have your turkey, and now you need a wine, but which one? Well, think about the flavors you want to go with it. With turkey being a light-tasting fowl, the flavors are often influenced by ingredients and cooking methods more than just the bird itself, so head to the spice rack and take a look around. Herbs and spices are an important part of pairing because they can change the flavor profile of a dish, thus changing which wine you want to pick.

Pinot Noir is one of the more ancient of the modern grapes, probably only one or two generations removed from the wild vitis sylvestris, which may help to account for the challenges in cultivation and winemaking with this grape.  The earliest written record we have for this grape is from the 1st century AD when Columella, mentions it in his De Rustica, one the most important and well known Roman agriculturalist and vintners.

I watched Sideways again the other night and Miles’ explanation to Maya does make Pinot Noir sound like something special. I have always liked the grape in its variety of forms but I wanted to do a little checking on whether or not Miles was right. Essentially the answer is yes.