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New York Times
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Dinner Is Served, at a 200-Foot-Long Table in the Oregon Woods
The Oregon winemaker Maggie Harrison, 52, launched her label, Antica Terra, in 2005, and is now considered one of the Willamette Valley's leading purveyors of chardonnay and pinot noir. But it wasn't until last year, after operating out of a nondescript warehouse in Dundee for the better part of two decades, that her business got a home worthy of its stature: a 148-acre patch of land on the outskirts of Amity, a small town about an hour south of Portland. Since taking over the property, Harrison has been at work creating her dream winery with a team of collaborators, chief among them Jai Kumaran, 42, a partner at the architecture and design firm West of West, which has offices in Portland and Los Angeles. Their first project, a candlelit tasting room and kitchen facility fronted by a dramatic oculus, debuted last year. Now comes what they call the Table in the Trees: an outdoor dining and hosting space centered on a sinuous, 200-foot-long, concrete and found-stone table set deep in a hilltop forest. On a warm evening in late July, Harrison hosted her first party there, gathering artist friends and collaborators for a dinner coinciding with the inaugural exhibition at what she calls Antica Terra's Art Meadow, an installation of naturalistic stone fountains by the Los Angeles-based ceramist Lily Clark, 31. 'People say I dress like a cult leader,' Harrison, who wore an ankle-grazing white caftan, was overheard telling a guest. 'But I feel more like the leader of a coven. Cults are all about persuasion, whereas with covens, the point is to make magic.' Offering up a seasonal feast and many bottles of wine under the towering white oak trees, she did just that. The attendees: Harrison and the Antica Terra team — including the winery's head chef, Timothy Wastell, 42; chef de cuisine Ramon Kelly-Canarios, 38, and studio manager Rachel Foster, 28 — were joined by Clark and Kumaran as well as Benjamin Critton, 42, and Heidi Korsavong, 42, who run the Los Angeles art gallery Marta and curated Clark's exhibition; the Portland-based woodworking artist Nicolas Musso, 43; the felted-wool artist Kristina Foley, 43, who lives in the Willamette Valley; and Kara Holekamp, 37, and Story Wiggins, 39, of Terremoto, a landscape architecture and design firm with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The décor: Just before the event, Harrison clipped sprigs from the surrounding oaks to place in small ceramic vessels arranged along the table. The Oregon-based designers behind the multidisciplinary creative studio Making Department used clay from the winery's property as well as grape vine ash to make the bulb-shaped vases. Place settings included pieces by the Japanese midcentury designer Sori Yanagi, and guests sat on hay bales covered with sheep pelts beneath fluffy hanging lanterns that Foley made using sheep's wool from a herd that grazes nearby. Perhaps the most dramatic element, though, was the forest canopy itself. The trees 'create a sort of roof over the table,' said Kumaran, adding that his goal for the project was to design 'something that felt as if it had always been there.' The food: Wastell works a weekly farmer's market shift for Groundwork Organics, a farm in Junction City, Ore., where he has priority access to seasonal produce. After a platter of cold water Tide Point oysters from Washington State, he sent out an elaborate crudités course featuring, among other things, purple wax beans, rainbow carrots, and Calimyrna figs, accompanied by a bowl of creamy Walla Walla onion and white miso dip. 'When stuff is in season we buy the best we can, and get out of the way,' he said. Also at its peak along the Oregon coast was albacore tuna, which he served two ways, offering a composed salad of heirloom tomatoes and fennel pollen with seared tuna tataki; and a whole fish head, brined and then smoked over white oak wood from the property, with blistered yellow Shiro plums and coriander seed. A similarly dramatic dish featured whole chickens from Dreamfield Farms in Birkenfeld, Ore. — also smoked over oak — presented with a single foot protruding from the corner of each platter. The dessert, a riff on baked alaska, was composed of peach leaf ice cream, peach sorbet, torched meringue, olive oil cake soaked in peach nectar and a sauce of olive oil simmered with peach pits. The drinks: Meals and tastings at Antica Terra often feature the winery's delicate Oregon pinot noirs and finely pointed chardonnays alongside wines from around the world, with an emphasis on the Burgundy, Barolo and Champagne regions. This meal instead included only the winery's own selections, all seven of them from 2022: Open bottles were placed directly on the table. The soundtrack: Birdsong was the only music. The Merlin app identified white-crowned sparrows, western wood pewees, American robins, acorn woodpeckers, northern flickers, black-capped chickadees, red-winged blackbirds, brown creepers and, once the sun had set, a great horned owl. The conversation: The artists and designers at the table talked shop, with Musso sharing salvage tips with Clark, and Critton enthusing to Kumaran about an upcoming show at his gallery, which features the works of New York-based interdisciplinary architecture and design firm MOS. As evening fell and guests refilled their wineglasses once more, the conversation turned to the setting itself. Daly, Kumaran and Foster wondered, wouldn't the table — reminiscent of a raised catwalk — be a great place for a fashion show? 'For the right person?' Harrison said. 'Sure!' An entertaining tip: 'The most memorable gatherings are rarely the most polished. They're the ones made in shared, easy spaces, where there's room for the night to surprise you,' said Harrison. 'This starts with dissolving the distance between you and the people you've invited.' She recommends letting guests arrive while you're still setting up, pouring them a drink and having them help with tasks like trimming herbs and laying the table. 'At the end of the night, no one really remembers how it came together, just how it felt to be there.'
Forbes
25-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Forbes
How To Pair Rosé Wine With Cheese
Rosé wine pairs very well with a variety of cheese getty It is now fashionable to drink rosé wine all year long, but when it comes to pairing rosé with cheese, there is often some confusion. However, if you have a basic understanding of the four major types of rosé wine, then matching these delicious berry-flavored pink wines can become an effortless task. To begin, imagine you are sipping your favorite rosé wine. What does it taste like? Is it light and crisp; fruity and slightly sweet, heavy bodied and complex, or bubbly? The taste and style of the rosé wine often dictates the best type of cheese pairing. Then consult the chart below to see the major types of cheese that will pair best with your favorite rosé wine style. Then, the following paragraphs explain why this pairing works and provides some examples of some popular brands of rosé wine in the category. Or, conversely, begin with your favorite cheese style, and consult the chart from a cheese perspective to determine the style of rosé wine to purchase. Even more fun, invite some friends over and experiment with all four styles of rosé wine and a variety of cheeses to discover what each person prefers. Common Rosé Wine Styles and Cheese Pairing Matrix Thach Usually very pale pink and/or salmon color with common aromas and/or flavors of strawberry, flowers, watermelon, and citrus. These wines are usually very dry and refreshing with high acidity and possible complex mineral notes. Common wine grapes used to make this style of wine include grenache, syrah, cinsault, and pinot noir. Due to their dry style with high acidity, light and delicate rosés pair very well with soft cheeses, such as creamy brie, chevre (soft goat cheese), mascarpone, burrata, camembert , epoisses and other soft cheese styles. The crisp style of the wine cuts through the soft creamy cheese, which compliments and intensifies the fruit and floral notes in the wine. Some popular wine brands that are considered to be light and delicate rosés are: Whispering Angel, Cotes de Rosés, Bonterra Rosé, Wolffer Estate Summer in a Bottle, La Crema Pinot Noir Rosé, Mirabeau, Wente Niki's, Seven Hills, and Bota Breeze Rosé. 2. Medium Bodied Fruity Rosé Wines Usually a darker pink with red, orange, and/or magenta hues with ripe berry flavors and aromas, including raspberry and cherry, possibly with softer melon flavors and bright citrus. These wines are medium-bodied and softer in style on the palate with moderate acidity, and may be slightly or semi-sweet tasting. Due to the stronger and riper style of these rosés, they pair well with medium hard cheeses, such as baby swiss, medium-hard cheddar, gouda, Gruyere, provolone, colby, feta, mozzarella, fontina, baby swiss, and other medium-hard cheese styles. Some popular wine brands in this style include Chateau d'Esclans Rock Angel Rosé, Beringer White Zinfandel, La Vieille Ferme Rosé, Bedrock Rosé, Elk Cove, Chateau St. Michelle, St. Supery Napa Valley, Biltmore Estate, Domaine Tempier Bandol, Domaine Ott Bandol, Mateus The Original, and others. 3. Darker Bold Rosé Wines This style of rosé is a darker red pink color, and can look similar to a lighter colored red wine. They also have much more intense flavors of black cherry, red plum, jam, and may have some spicy notes, such as allspice or potpourri. On the palate they are heavier with moderate acidity, and may have some tannins (creating a puckering feeling in mouth). In France they refer to this style of rosé wine as a 'manly or masculine rosé.' Due to the more intense and complex flavors in this style of wine (almost like a light red wine), the can be paired with harder and more complex cheeses. Examples include aged cheddar or gouda, parmesan, hard sheep cheeses, blue cheese, roquefort, gorgonzola, pecorino, comté, Manchego and similar styles. This style of rosé wine is more challenging to find in stores, but generally any Rosé from the Tavel region of France or darker Rosés from Spain match this category. Consider Gabriel Meffre 'Saint Ferreol' Tavel Rosé, Marques De Caceres Rosé, Justin Reserve Rosé, Domaine Serene R, Benziger's de Coelo Rosé and others. 4. Sparkling Rosé Wines The joy of a sparkling rosé wine is that it can be paired with almost any cheese. This is because it has tiny scrubbing bubbles on your palate that cleanse and refresh your mouth after each bite of cheese. Bubbly rosés can range from pale pink to dark pink in color, but they usually have more intense fruity notes. This coupled with the scrubbing bubbles makes them a great choice to stand-up even to the strongest of cheeses, while also tasting delightful with soft and creamy cheeses. Enjoy rosé sparkling wine with any cheese getty Salty Cheeses Bring Out The Fruity Notes in Rosé Wine One interesting fact is that cheeses that are more salty will bring out the fruity and floral notes in a rosé wine. Whereas, non-salty cheeses will make the wine taste more intense on the palate and less fruity. So if you want your rosé wine to taste more fruit-forward, select a salty cheese. Rosé Wine Serving Temperature, Ice and Vintage Date Rosé wines should always be served chilled, usually between 45 to 55 F (7 to 13 degrees Celsius). In the summertime, it is fashionable to add ice cubes to your rosé wine, but keep in mind that as they melt, it will dilute the wine flavor. There are actually a few rosé wines that are designed to add ice cubes. These wines are purposely made very strong in flavor, so as the ice melts, the flavors come into balance. In terms of vintage date, almost all rosé wine is designed to be drunk young – usually within 1 to 2 years of the vintage date. In France, they have a saying that rosé should be released around Valentine's Day and consumed by Christmas. The Three Methods To Make Rosé Wine Rosé wines can be made from any type of red grape, but the most common are grenache, syrah, cinsault, pinot noir and zinfandel. In crafting a rosé wine, winemakers have a choice of three different methods: Classic Provence Method : red grapes are picked early with the intent of only using them to make rosé wine. The sugar level is usually lower – around 19 to 21 Brix, and the grapes are destemmed, and then gently crushed and let skin on skins for 2 to 20 hours. The longer the juice sits on the skins, the darker the color of the rosé. Then the juice is racked off the skins and fermented like a white wine. This is the most expensive way to make rosé wine. Saignée Method : meaning 'to bleed off'; red grapes are picked to make red wine (usually around 23 to 25 Brix), but a portion of the juice is 'bled off' to make rosé wine. The rest of the grape must is now more concentrated and is used to make a richer red wine. The saignée juice (which is usually a light pink color) is then fermented like a white wine. Blending Method : red and white wine are blended to achieve the desired color, fruit profile, and acid level. This is the least expensive way to make a rosé wine. Rosé wine paired with cheese, bread and fruit getty
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Kosta Browne Winery Goes Global: What Drove This California Winery To Craft Wine In Burgundy
Julien Howsepian, Head Winemaker at Kosta Browne, Studying the Soil in a Burgundy Vineyard ALBIN DURAND Why would a highly successful California pinot noir producer suddenly adjust their business strategy and begin making and importing pinot noir wine from Burgundy? Since 1997, Kosta Browne winery, located in Sonoma County, has focused on producing luxury wines from some of the most legendary pinot noir and chardonnay vineyards in California. However, in 2020, they formed a partnership with a Burgundian négociant to produce wine in Burgundy and import it in bulk for finishing, aging, and bottling in Sonoma County. 'As far as we know, we are the only California-based winery that is implementing this strategy,' said Julien Howsepian, Head Winemaker for Kosta Browne, when I visited him at the winery recently. 'The idea came about in 2020 during the pandemic when consumers were buying a lot of wine, but then the wildfires hit. We realized we were at risk of losing our grapes, so we started considering new ideas,' Julien explained. However, since embracing innovation and pushing boundaries was already part of the winery's DNA, instilled in the company by founders Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, two waiters who pooled their tip money to make the first barrel of wine, crazy ideas were not so foreign. 'Dan and Michael were always dreamers, and Michael Browne, especially, wanted to make wine from Burgundian grapes, but it was very difficult to get the fruit here,' Julien added. It turns out that Burgundy will not allow its wine grapes to be shipped out of France without losing the Burgundy designation. However, it is possible to produce wine in Burgundy, bottle it in the U.S., and maintain the prestigious appellation. Given that Julien Howsepian is half French, with contacts who live in Burgundy, he was able to identify a Burgundian négociant /producer, who was willing to work with them. Fortunately for Kosta Browne, they had access to the strong legal team of Duckhorn winery. Duckhorn had purchased Kosta-Browne in 2018, and Neil Bernardi, MW, who was VP of Winemaking for Duckhorn at the time, was an enthusiastic proponent of the Burgundy idea. (In 2024, the Duckhorn portfolio was acquired by private equity firm Butterfly, for $1.95 billion.) 'The contract was negotiated out over Zoom in 2020, but we are required to keep the name of our Burgundian partner anonymous,' said Julien. The timing was perfect because that year, Kosta Browne realized that it couldn't produce wine from many of its California vineyards due to smoke taint. So Julien flew to Burgundy and tasted through hundreds of wine samples before he selected the five Burgundian wines Kosta Browne imported for the 2020 vintage. Gallery Tasting Room at Kosta Browne, Overlooking the Small-Lot Fermentation Room Troyce Hoffman Kosta Browne Customer Response to Burgundy Wines As a luxury wine producer, Kosta Browne sells the majority of its wine on allocation to a membership list of consumers. The preferred member pricing range is from $90 to $145 per bottle, and the ability to purchase some of these wines requires that consumers be placed on a wait list. So I asked Julien what the response was to Kosta Browne suddenly introducing a Burgundy Series? 'We sold out in two days!' he responded with a big smile. 'We had 4,000 cases and offered it on a first-come, first serve basis.' The only problem was that the following year, in 2021, Burgundy vineyards were hit by very bad frost and lost over 50% of their crop in some areas. 'We couldn't import as much wine from Burgundy, and some of our members were disappointed because we could only offer them 4 bottles on allocation instead of a case of wine.' Fortunately, the 2021 crop in California was bountiful, but due to the need to age the wine for 12 to 24 months, it was not immediately available. Since that time, Julien has been overseeing winemaking production in both California and Burgundy. He has become more fully engaged with the winemaking in Burgundy, flying to France several times per year to work with their partner to select the grapes, barrels, and participate in the winemaking – just as he does in California. After the wine is crafted in Burgundy and aged in barrel for some time, it is shipped in container to California, where Julien and his team ensure that it finishes aging and is then bottled under the 'Kosta Browne' name. When asked about the impact of the tariff situation, Julien responded that they are currently paying the 10% U.S. imposed tariffs on products imported from France, but are hoping it will go away. Kosta Browne Burgundy Wine Series for 2022 Kosta Browne Tasting The Wines of Kosta Browne Kosta Browne only produces pinot noir and chardonnay, which are available in five different series to consumers: Appellations Series – wines from the well-known California appellations of: Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, Sonoma Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Rita Hills. Starting in 2022, Kosta Browne started making wine in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, for this series. Estate Series – special wines made solely from vineyards owned and farmed by Kosta Browne Single Vineyard Series – wines produced from famous vineyards in California Burgundy Series – wines produced in Burgundy and imported to the U.S. for final aging and bottling Observation Series – a very limited experimental group of wines, available only to members who visit the winery I was able to taste and analyze 13 wines with Julien, from all five of the series. For this article, I will focus on tasting notes from the Burgundy Series, but the wines from the other appellations are all excellent, with each clearly expressing the unique characteristics of the region or vineyard. Kosta Browne 2022 Volnay Pinot Noir – aromatic nose of red cherry, dried lavender, and cranberry, with darker red fruit on palate. Very elegant and streamlined with silky tannins, and a long finish with refreshing acidity. Kosta Browne 2022 Pommard Pinot Noir – classic nose of black cherry, earth and spice, with a richly structured mouthfeel brimming with blackberry and hints of pepper. Kosta Browne 2022 Beaune Premier Cru Pinot Noir – an exquisite wine with seductive Bing cherry and dried rose petal on the nose, followed by succulent raspberry and spice on the palate. Silky smooth tannins, crisp acidity, and a vibrancy that dances across the palate in a very long finish. Kosta Browne 2022 Nuits St. George – a dark and earthy wine with notes of mushroom and dried black fruit on nose and palate. Well structured, powerful and rustic, with fresh acidity and a complex finish. Kosta Browne 2022 Chablis Premier Cru – enticing nose of white blossoms and lemon, with mouth-watering peach, citrus and chalky stone on the palate. Refreshing, vibrant, and very satisfying with a bright cleansing finish. Visiting Kosta Browne Winery The Kosta Browne winery is located in Sebastopol, California and is open to all visitors, by appointment. They offer three different tasting formats: A Taste of KB for $75 per person, The Observations Flight for $150 per person, and The Reserve Flight for $185 per person. The winery is located in the Barlow Market of Sebastopol that offers a great variety of excellent restaurants, shops, events, and other winery tasting rooms. From the outside, it looks like a warehouse district constructed of metal building, but once inside the Kosta Browne winery, visitors will be awed by the beautiful tasting areas, impressive winemaking equipment, and stunning tank room.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Daily Mail
The secret world of 'posh sex': I thought I'd seen it all... now REAL high society types confess what they get up to - and it's a lot kinkier than dropping your keys in a bowl: SEALED SECTION
Just when I thought I'd heard it all, someone whispered four words into my ear at a dinner party in Watsons Bay - a ritzy harbourside suburb in Sydney 's east - that made me choke on my pinot noir. 'They have a dungeon.'
The Guardian
01-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Burgundy eat your heart out!': Devon producer is toast of wine world
They began by producing drinks more usually associated with the rolling hills of southern England – hearty ciders, warming tipples made from hedgerow fruits and good old-fashioned mead. But Lyme Bay Winery in Devon is celebrating a bit of history having become the first English producer to win prestigious international trophies for both red and white wine in the same year. Its Martin's Lane Estate chardonnay 2020 and Lyme Bay Winery pinot noir 2021 won the English White trophy and English Red trophy respectively at the 2025 International Wine Challenge (IWC). 'We knew we had produced some really good wine that had aged beautifully,' operations manager Wolf Sieg-Hogg said. 'We thought we'd be there or thereabouts but to take both prizes is wonderful. 'It's a labour of love – the entire team has worked tirelessly to get here. It's a huge moment for us – and for English still wine. English wine producers are the new boys on the world stage but we're definitely on the up.' The IWC judges were certainly gushing. Of the chardonnay, they said: 'Burgundy eat your heart out! Spry, toasty oak with ripe peach, melon, and apples. Wholesome fresh dry flavours of wet stones, citrus zest and a long, lingering finish. Harmonious and expressive.' They described the pinot noir as having 'beautiful aromatics of autumn leaves, ripe cherries, dried herbs, and iodine', adding: 'The palate reveals ripe strawberry and cranberry, with appealing spicy details. A complex, textured finish completes this elegant wine.' Founded 32 years ago and now employing 30 people, the Lyme Bay Winery is on a winding lane just outside the town of Axminster in East Devon (next to a vehicle reclamation yard and artisan coffee factory). It still sells cider, hedgerow wine and mead but its decision to branch out into fine wines has proven a good one. Rather than relying on its own vineyard, the grapes for its wine are sourced from all over southern England. The grapes for the winning chardonnay came from the Martin's Lane estate in the Crouch valley, Essex and benefitted from the long, hot summer of 2020. Grapes for the pinot noir were from Martin's Lane and four other Essex vineyards. The summer of 2021 was cool but a late warm spell in October allowed an extended 'hang time', ripening the grapes nicely. Sieg-Hogg said the ethos was not to be tied to one vineyard but to source the best grapes from the best vineyards. 'We don't go for quantity but for quality,' he said. It means when the grapes ripen there is a race to harvest them and drive them across the country to Devon, where they are crushed and pressed and the 'magic', as Sieg-Hogg calls it, of turning the juice into wine in gleaming tanks and oak barrels begins. 'You don't get much sleep at that time,' said Sieg-Hogg. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Once the butt of jokes, the English wine industry has begun to silence the cynics, with sparking wines such as those produced in the Camel valley in Cornwall leading the way. The climate emergency has created excellent conditions for growing grapes, not just in the south of England but, increasingly, farther north and west in the UK. Extreme heat threatens to harm some more traditional wine regions, such as areas of Spain, Italy and southern California. The Lyme Bay trophy-winning wine is not cheap – the chardonnay is £35 and the pinot noir is £29.99. Buy there are only a few thousand bottles of them and they will soon go. There are cheaper 'entry level' wines on offer and the winery sells to Aldi. 'It's about increasing the popularity of English wine, making it more accessible to more people,' said Steve Richardson, manager of the winery's cellar door shop. The visitor book at the shop shows that visitors from Australia, North America and continental Europe come here seeking out the Devon wines. 'The Scandinavians love our wines,' said Richardson. 'The Australians come with very open minds; the French don't like to admit how good it is.'
