Too many wineries in Europe have tried to modernize their wines to compete with those from the U.S. or Australia. But just as with architecture or culture, what makes European wines interesting is tradition. We’ve been trying to get some wines that really show the old world style – brooding, complex, sometimes earthy, and most importantly excellent with food. I’m very excited about a Rioja we just got in from Lopez de Heredia, a winery known for producing traditional riojas. Rioja is a region in northern Spain famous mostly for its reds, but most Rioja today is very different than it was even twenty five years ago. Lopez de Heredia makes their wines like they always did. Here’s a great New York Times article about the winery. We have their Crianza which sells for $25 (retail) and is excellent. I can’t wait to try it with some lamb.

Too many wineries in Europe have tried to modernize their wines to compete with those from the U.S. or Australia. But just as with architecture or culture, what makes European wines interesting is tradition. We’ve been trying to get some wines that really show the old world style – brooding, complex, sometimes earthy, and most importantly excellent with food. I’m very excited about a Rioja we just got in from Lopez de Heredia, a winery known for producing traditional riojas. Rioja is a region in northern Spain famous mostly for its reds, but most Rioja today is very different than it was even twenty five years ago. Lopez de Heredia makes their wines like they always did. Here’s a great New York Times article about the winery. We have their Crianza which sells for $25 (retail) and is excellent. I can’t wait to try it with some lamb.

It’s been a few years since I have had to perform any real engineering work. As a senior member of a management consulting firm, my days seem to be focused on business development and project management. However, my wife recently requested some assista…

Maya Kaimal’s Indian Simmer Sauces, to be more precise.

Many of our faithful customers remember fondly the rich, sumptuous, delectable line of sauces that we used to have in our cheese case. Made with the freshest ingredients, they were slow-simmered and perfectly spiced. The ONLY downside to these sauces was the expiry date…they generally had only a 2-3 week shelf life. AND they had to be kept in the fridge.

So when I heard that the Maya Kaimal shelf-stable sauces were available (previously a Williams-Sonoma exclusive) I was VERY interested…but also a bit skeptical. Would the shelf-stable sauces be as good as the fresh, refrigerated ones? So I asked my pal Tito at Cheeseworks if he knew anyone who had tried them, side-by-side.

Tito reported back to me that one of his co-sales reps and good friend did. Her favorite out of ALL of them was the Tikka Masala SHELF STABLE. Needless to say, that sealed the deal for me. We have six jars in stock right now, but we will be getting more (and new flavors) in next week. Did I mention they are shelf-stable for 2 years?! Time to stock your pantry!

Maya Kaimal’s Indian Simmer Sauces, to be more precise.

Many of our faithful customers remember fondly the rich, sumptuous, delectable line of sauces that we used to have in our cheese case. Made with the freshest ingredients, they were slow-simmered and perfectly spiced. The ONLY downside to these sauces was the expiry date…they generally had only a 2-3 week shelf life. AND they had to be kept in the fridge.

So when I heard that the Maya Kaimal shelf-stable sauces were available (previously a Williams-Sonoma exclusive) I was VERY interested…but also a bit skeptical. Would the shelf-stable sauces be as good as the fresh, refrigerated ones? So I asked my pal Tito at Cheeseworks if he knew anyone who had tried them, side-by-side.

Tito reported back to me that one of his co-sales reps and good friend did. Her favorite out of ALL of them was the Tikka Masala SHELF STABLE. Needless to say, that sealed the deal for me. We have six jars in stock right now, but we will be getting more (and new flavors) in next week. Did I mention they are shelf-stable for 2 years?! Time to stock your pantry!

Come out Monday from 6-9pm to Brandon Newton’s art show. Brandon is a local artist whose style I won’t attempt to describe except that it’s really cool. You can visit his website here. We’ll also being doing our regular Monday special of all you can eat mussels and fries for $14 per person.

We love our Mac Pro. It’s getting a little dated (2006 vintage), but over time we have upgraded the OS X operating system, graphics card, monitors, and added a bunch of hard drive capacity and memory. It remains a real screamer that can get some proces…

[My wife was asked to prepare comments for a reflection on Mother’s Day to be shared with the congregation at the Sunday morning mass at the Saint Francis of Assisi parish on Sunday, May 9, 2010. With her permission, I am sharing her Mother’s Day speec…

This Thursday, we welcome Andra Faye to kybecca wine bar! Blues fans: you do not want to miss this amazingly talented lady.

Andra is known for her powerful vocals and for her talents on stringed instruments (fiddle, upright & electric bass & guitar), especially the blues mandolin. She has recorded and performed nationally & internationally with Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women since joining them in 1992. In addition to teaching privately and for workshops such as Augusta Heritage Blues Week, she performs solo and with “The Mighty Good Men,” as well as other spontaneous configurations.

She has been nominated in 2004 & 2005 for a W. C. Handy Award for blues instrumentalist for mandolin & violin, and has been nominated as part of Saffire:
2005 W.C. Handy Award Nominee for Blues Instrumentalist/Other-Mandolin
2004 W.C. Handy Award Nominee for Blues Instrumentalist/Other-Mandolin/Violin

Her influences include Yank Rachell, Howard Armstrong & Rich DelGrosso on mandolin.

Andra lives in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area.