Meg Houston Maker

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Meg Houston Maker

Monastrell: It’s From Murcia

Meg Houston Maker
Features
9 min read
“Smile!” I felt the vineyard stones crunch under my feet as I backed up for the photo, squinting and grinning in the clean midday light. Head-trained vines stood in stiff regiments behind me, the scenery yielding to craggy mountains against a backdrop of crystalline sky. It was my fourth and

2012 Redux: Tasting Wine, Broadly Speaking

Meg Houston Maker
Features
1 min read
Palate Press has selected our top ten stories from 2012 and will publish a 2012 Redux article each weekday until January 4, 2013. These stories highlight our featured columnists, widely recognized contributors, and most popular works published through the year. The Palate Press editorial board hopes you enjoy these highlights

Best Wines for Comfort Food

Meg Houston Maker
Features
5 min read
Comfort food. It's polenta and pasta, roast beef and beef stew, pot pie and Shepherd’s pie and macaroni and cheese. It’s hamburgers, French fries, and toasted cheese sandwiches. It’s Chinese takeout and sushi and Chili con Carne; Osso Buco, Braised Short Ribs, and Fish and Chips. And, of course, bacon.

Five Reasons to Love Austrian Red Wines

Meg Houston Maker
Feature Stories
6 min read
I recently polled a few friends to get their quick take on Austrian reds. Replies ranged from “Yum!” to “Huh?”—but heavily weighted toward the latter. True, Austria’s better known for crisp whites like Grüner Veltliner, but red grapes are grown everywhere, too, and make up a third of vineyard plantings.

Best White Wines for Fall

Meg Houston Maker
Features
8 min read
There’s a crunch of leaves underfoot and a tinge of wood smoke in the air. Monarch butterflies, little jags of flame, meander in a big cerulean sky. Fall’s upon us here in New England. Gone are the high summer patio days that found me grilling quick suppers at 8:30 p.m.

Try Zweigelt This Summer

Meg Houston Maker
Features
6 min read
Quick! Name an Austrian wine. Did you say Grüner Veltliner? Take two points—and double that if you’ve drunk one in the last six weeks. Did you say Zweigelt? You just won a geek badge. Grüner is indeed the most widely grown grape variety in Austria, and there’s about as much