Shot of the Week

The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Paris features an underground tunnel built by soldiers in 1807 to evacuate the city government, protecting them from invasion during the Franco-Prussian War. The French Renaissance-style building now houses the city’s first openly gay mayor, Bertrand Delanoë. Click to take a digital tour of the Hôtel de Ville.

–Tara for TKGO

Countdown to the World Cup 2010: Four Days

The World Cup isn’t all that happens in Cape Town.

Tune into the first matches this Friday, June 11 at 9 a.m. (CT) South Africa v. Mexico, and at 1:30 p.m. (CT) Uruguay v. France. Matches take place all over the country, but Cape Town is enough to entertain.

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Still not satisfied? Fill your house with the smell of Cape Town by making the Kalmanson family bobotie recipe. The traditional meat pie was invented by the Cape Malays.

–Tara for TKGO

Drinking Wine Like Grown-Ups

For the past couple of months, we’ve been touring the world of wine. We signed up for the weekly, introductory Wine Appreciation “mini course” at Northwestern University’s student center to start drinking wine like adults instead of college kids. Below is a regional run-through of what we learned, as well as descriptions of some of our favorite bottles, most of which cost under $15. This is by no means an exhaustive tour, but you have to start somewhere!

The Basics

• Hold the glass by the stem so your hand doesn’t warm the wine.
• White wines in this price range are better when younger (more recently bottled).
• The term “estate bottled” means the grapes are grown and bottled by the same vineyard. This ensures quality.
• Reserve (or reserva) means the producers kept it back a year or so to age before distributing it. Drink them right away; there’s no need for extra aging.
• Gewurztraminer is the current trendy choice in white wine. It’s hearty and aromatic, and is one of the rare few that goes well with Asian cuisines (BYOB, anyone?).

 

Sparkling and dessert wines at Wine Appreciation, by Karina for TKGO

 

United States: West Coast

Chardonnay is the most popular grape in America. Pinot noir originated in Burgundy, France, but also grows well in Santa Barbara.

• Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc 2008
• Bonterra Mendocino County 2008
• Turn Four Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2007
• Chateau Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Washington

France

You won’t be able to discern the varietal (or type of grape) from the label, which is a departure from wine labeling in the rest of the world. What’s important in France is where the grapes grew and the wine was bottled. French people themselves tend to drink wines from the Loire Valley.

• Muscadet Henri Poiron 2008, Loire Valley
• Cotes du Rhone Jean-Luc Colombo 2007

South America

Chilean and Argentine wines are famously delicious and easy on the pocketbook. Malbec is a varietal used in blends all over the world, but Argentina is the only producer to bottle it alone.

• Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Reserve, Maipo Valley, Chile
• Terrazas Malbec, 2008 Argentina

Australia and New Zealand

Chiraz is the national grape of Australia. Though rieslings are often German, New Zealand makes some rieslings to reckon with.

• Yard Dog White Blend 2008 Australia

Sparkling/Dessert Wines:

Champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Anything fizzy made elsewhere is just called sparkling wine. In order from dry to sweetest, the classifications are brut nature, brut, extra dry, sec/dry, demi-sec and doux. Brut is most common, and it’s typically 60 percent pinot noir and 40 percent chardonnay.

• Method Champenoise Gruet Blanc de Noirs
• Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Blue Top Champagne Brut

Grab some bottles and start tasting. Cheers!

–Tara and Karina for TKGO

Paris, Circa 2008

It’s been a rainy week in Evanston, and on top of that, it’s midterms season at Northwestern. After I found myself five episodes deep into the first season of True Blood (thanks to Comcast On Demand), I started thinking about better rainy weeks.

In March of 2008, I attended Northwestern’s weeklong International Media Seminar in Paris. We heard from the legendary former Life photo editor John Morris, correspondents and editors at the International Herald Tribune, editors at Libération, one of France’s leading newspapers, the chief press and information officer at the U.S. embassy and many other leading figures in international culture and politics.

Like this week in Evanston, Paris was overcast. And on days like that, there’s nothing better than romping around an old city with new friends.

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–Tara for TKGO