The region of France that turns on its head the tried and true axioms about the proper wines to serve with meats and fish or chicken is in the northeastern part of the country, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. The Alsace lies in the picturesque Rhine River Valley, just east of the Vosges Mountains. Its geography has informed its history as this picturesque land has changed hands between France and Germany several times. From the names of its towns and cities to its cuisine and wine production, one can easily identify both French and German influences.

You are sitting in a glistening stainless steel and white-tiled kitchen, watching a Portuguese woman in what could best be described as 19th Century kitchen garb, including a white linen cap that is the much more stylish precursor to the kitchen hair net, stirring a black cauldron over an open flame in the nearly floor-to-ceiling burnished red brick fireplace that takes up an entire wall.

When the temperatures soar into the 90s (or higher) and St. Louis’ humidity makes a hot day even more oppressive, a glass of cold, refreshing sparkling wine really helps a body cool down. The sparklers that are having a breakout moment this summer come from a country that knows all about hot weather – Spanish Cavas.

Most of us in St. Louis and the surrounding suburbs live in very close proximity to our neighbors – some of us cheek by jowl and others a large, hopefully green, lawn away.  This is a far cry from the outermost reaches of Western Australia. The Smith family, most of whom were born among the vines are living in a remote, pristine environment in the Frankland River region of Western Australia -- just north of the largest protected wilderness area in the country.

When spring finally blossoms in Missouri, especially after what seems like an endless  winter of gray skies, snow and cold, one cannot help but notice the renewal of nature, from the budding of the trees and shrubs with new leaves to the first flowers of the season poking their way up through the no-longer-frozen earth, and blossoming into colorful bouquets.  

Is there any other time of year that you hear the word lamb as much as around Easter, when it is probably enjoyed at more American dinner tables than any other meat?