Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He was nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones (2009). Tucci's other recent celebrated roles have been in The Devil Wears Prada and Julie & Julia. He has been nominated three times for Golden Globes, and won twice — for his title role in Winchell, and for his supporting role as Adolph Eichmann in Conspiracy, both from HBO films. He also received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Winchell. He was nominated for Broadway’s Tony Award as Best Actor in a Play for his role as Johnny in the 2002 revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.
Ray Isle
Ray Isle is Executive Wine Editor of FOOD & WINE, the modern, stylish, trend-spotting, talent-seeking epicurean brand. In addition to overseeing F&W’s wine department, Isle writes the monthly column, Tasting Room, for the magazine, directs the title’s spirits coverage, and is the author of foodandwine.com’s wine blog, Tasting Room. Isle was promoted from wine editor in 2010, and has also served as deputy wine editor and senior editor. Prior to joining FOOD & WINE in 2005, Isle was managing editor of Wine & Spirits Magazine. He regularly conducts wine tasting seminars at epicurean events and appears as a wine and spirits expert on national television, including NBC’s Today and CBS’s The Early Show.
Emilie Perrier
Emile, Originally from Roanne, France in the Rhone Alpes, Emilie was raised in Burgundy. After becoming a cheese specialist at Mons Cheese Affineur in Roanne, she moved to New York City where she became a Certified Sommelier. Emilie has served as sommelier or Wine Director at a number of top New York restaurants, including The Modern Restaurant and Robuchon’s French Cuisine. When she was Wine Director of Sho Shaun hergatt in 2008, her 550 selection wine list received a macaron Michelin, in addition to many other awards from the New York Times, Zagat, Guyot, Glamour Magazine, and Esquire Magazine. In 2010, Emilie was honored by Food & Wine Magazine, receiving one of seven awards as “Sommelier of the Year.” She is currently Chief Sommelier at Ai Fiori.
Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson currently appears on NBC’s 30 Rock, Fox’s Glee and will soon be seen on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. He has also appeared in Family Practice, Life on Mars, Lipstick Jungle, Ugly Betty, and Law & Order. His film credits include Curiosity, Hysteria, Photo Op and United 93. He’ll next appear in the films Smile, Price Check and The Green. His first Broadway role was in All Shook Up, earning him the Theatre World Award. Jackson has also appeared in productions of Finian’s Rainbow, Damn Yankees, Xanadu, Altar Boyz, Aida, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. He recently released his debut CD titled The Power of Two with Michael Feinstein.
Gay Talese
Gay Talese is the author of 12 books, among them A Writer's Life, The Kingdom and the Power, Honor Thy Father, and Thy Neighbor's Wife. His work also appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, and New York magazine. He resides in New York with his wife, Nan, an editor with her imprint at Random House, and they have 2 daughters, one a painter, the other a photographer.
Joey Campanaro
Joey Campanaro was raised in an Italian-American household in Philadelphia where the food of his childhood inspired him to make cooking his vocation. With a culinary approach firmly rooted in his Italian grandmother’s kitchen and honed in a range of America’s top restaurants, he brings a lifelong affinity for Mediterranean cuisine to every dish he creates. His restaurants include the celebrated Little Owl in NYC and Village Belle in Philadelphia, and each has received acclaim from critics and guests alike. He has been featured in The NY Times, Food & Wine, Esquire, Bon Appetit, and has made appearances on Iron Chef America, The Today Show, and The Martha Stewart Show.
Domaine Cedrick Bardin
Domaine de Ladoucette
Domaine Noel Bougrier
Domaine Pascal Cotat
Domaine Vacheron
Domaine Yves Martin
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley: Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé
The Loire Valley is located in central France along the middle of the Loire River, which originates in south-central France and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in northwest France near the town of St. Nazaire. The area is famous for its gently rolling hills dotted with centuries-old chateaux, charming towns, and picturesque parcels of land where asparagus, artichokes, cherries--and of course grapes--are grown.
Two outstanding appellations in the Centre-Loire region are Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Sancerre lies on the west bank of the Loire River in north-central France. Pouilly-Fumé is situated directly across from Sancerre, on the east bank. Both areas have a cooler, more continental climate than is typical in other parts of the Loire Valley. Summers tend to be short and hot, while winters there tend to be long and cold. The Loire River itself warms the zone by a few degrees, just enough to make the climate favorable to viticulture. The principle grapes found in this part of the Loire Valley are the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir. White, red, and rosé wines are produced in Sancerre. Pouilly-Fumé produces only white wines from the Sauvignon Blanc grape.
Soil compositions in the Loire Valley are unusual and complex, contributing heavily to the diverse characteristics of wines produced there. Three main types of terroir exist in Sancerre alone. In the western part of the region, there is white earth, called terres blanches, which is chalky. Another terroir consists of gravel and limestone. In the eastern vineyards, the soil is flinty, causing it to impart a distinctive smoky flavor to the wine. Pouilly-Fumé has flint, limestone, and clay soils, and sometimes mixtures of soil types in varying combinations.
Sauvignon Blanc grapes naturally bud earlier and ripen later than other varieties. The cool climate of the Loire Valley slows the ripening of the fruit further, allowing more time to achieve balance between acidity and sugar levels, and to develop the wine's intensity and characteristic aromas, which reflect the terroir of each vineyard. Wines from these regions are often described as "fruity," "savory," and "zesty." They are characterized by smoky flavors and minerality.
For more on Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, click here.
Photo of Sancerre courtesy of BIVC.
•There is a long, documented history of wine-making in the areas now known as Sancere and Pouilly-Fumé. As far back as the first century A.D., Romans cultivated grapes around the distinctive chalk hill outcrops. To learn more about the wines of the Loire valley visit www.loirevalleywine.com.
•In the late 19th century, phylloxera decimated the crops, almost all of them Pinot Noir and Gamay. Some of the Pinot Noir survived, but replanting was primarily with the more disease-resistant Sauvignon Blanc vines which still dominate the area today.
•Cultivated primarily in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley, the grape name “Sauvignon Blanc” comes from the French words sauvage, meaning “wild,” and blanc, meaning “white.” Centuries ago, this green grape grew wild all over western France.
•The white soil (terres blanches) found in outcrops and valleys of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé is part of the larger chalk formation that stretches from England and across the heart of France. This phenomenon is demonstrated well in the famous White Cliffs of Dover, which have a façade of white chalk (calcium carbonate) with streaks of black flint.
•In Pouilly-Fumé, the Sauvignon Blanc grape is called “Blanc Fumé.” Although local wine often has a slightly smoky aroma derived from the flinty soil, the name was given because the grape skins of this variety literally have a gray, smoke-colored bloom on them.
•White wines from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are among the few that pair well with sushi.