A Trip to Saumur-Champigny, France

A Sommelier in your pocket and much more

Insta-somm started with a trip to Chateau Yvonne, in the Loire Valley, where Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc are the varietals of the day. But, most Americans don’t know them, so the owner and winemaker, Matthieu Vallée, told me he has trouble selling them in the American market. I told him that we sell lots of Chenin and Cab Franc at my wine shop in Gloucester, Massachusetts. How? We do it by pairing them with the right foods. I explained that Chenin is one of the most versatile wines with many foods, including Asian, and Cabernet Franc is one of very few red wines that works with salads, vegan dishes, and things like artichokes and asparagus that are challenging matches.

So the idea of developing a food and wine pairing system to introduce more people to great wines they may not know was born. A simple system that matches foods by color and number makes food and wine pairing easy and fool-proof for anyone!

A Sommelier in your pocket and much more

Here I am with Chenin Blanc vines that are over 100 years old! No one should miss out on great wines made from the concentrated fruit of vines like this!