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Country Kitchen Food and WineGood food and wine naturally compliment each other. Most people never get past the red or white with chicken? dilemma, but choosing the right wine is not that difficult. Appreciating good wine with your meal is definitely not rocket science nor brain surgery. Rather, it's simply what tastes good to you and enhances your dining experience. In the real world, there are no hard and fast rules about which wine to drink with which dish. However, armed with a little knowledge and some insider tips, you should be able to enjoy your meal and look good doing it! 
Personally, I have no time for so-called wine snobs, those who over-use wine tasters' buzzwords. I feel they are missing the most important point of enjoying food and wine: taste and dining enjoyment. You hear terms such as fruity after-taste, or subtle notes of hay, grass, smoke. I don't know about you, but I don't necessarily want to associate the smell of hay with the meal I'm enjoying! Buzzwords aside, the taste and aroma of a glass of quality wine can improve the taste of many dishes; you just don't have to put a name to it!
With wine, you usually get what you pay for. Generally, older vintage wines from top wineries taste better, but naturally they are more expensive. Before you get too impressed by high-priced aged wines, it's good to know that only a very small percentage of all wines vinted are even drinkable after five years. The actual winemaking process from grape to drinking is actually relatively short, usually a few months. Some wines are then aged in oak barrels to add certain desired flavors. The actual quality of table wine comes from grape type and growing and selection techniques. The final quality of wine is determined by the skill of the winemaker or vintner and timing of the process. A respected vintner who produces quality wines combines experience, science and art skills in his craft.
In Modoc County, we are lucky to live a few hundred miles from one of the premier grape and winemaking areas in the world, in north-central California. The famed Napa-Sonoma region of California produces some of the finest quality grapes in the world and is home to some of the best wineries. Consequently, we can pick up many very good wines at our local supermarket at a very affordable price. Wine grapes are grown in many climates and wine is made in many countries of the world. Don't be afraid to try the less expensive wines of France, Italy, Spain, Germany, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand to name a few.
Favorite Recipes from our Country Kitchen
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With the information we've provided on this page, we hope your food and wine dining experiences will be worthwhile and make meals more memorable for you. Of course, you'll need a little wine knowledge to realize the full enjoyment of your dining experiences. We've put together some great information on enjoying wine and things to know and look for. Check out our list of great
