Finding the perfect bottle for a colleague—or yourself!—is never easy, so I’ve narrowed the choices for you. I’m lucky to receive wine samples almost daily from winemakers and publicists seeking my opinion. I mention this not as a humblebrag but to explain that I can’t always spotlight every wine that deserves attention—whether in print or … Read more
Wines for Hearty Holiday Meals pt.2 Welcome back! It’s mid-December and the parties and entertaining will continue for at least another two weeks. In my last post, I proposed an alternative approach to pairing heartier winter fare with lighter wines, exploring the harmonious marriage of bright, refreshing high- acid white wines and low-tannin, high-acid, chillable … Read more
Wines for Hearty Holiday Meals pt.1 With the holiday season up on us, our tables will be amply adorned with an array of hearty holiday dishes that beckon for the perfect wine pairing. While traditional choices like robust reds—especially in cooler climes—may be the natural choice, I’d like to propose an alternative approach: the harmonious … Read more
Champagne is Back! After a huge falloff during the pandemic, France’s prestigious sparkler is on the rise, again While statistics on wine consumption last year are still being tabulated, the folks in France who calculate Champagne shipments got an early start this year by announcing a leap of 32-percent, according to Market Watch, to 322 … Read more
Maybe we can’t get to Europe quite yet, but we can dream of being there while drinking what they?re pouring here.
Riesling Now. Really. At a sweltering outdoor party this past weekend I watched, somewhat covertly, as 50 or so guests reached into a huge cooler-on-wheels, plunged their hands into the ice-water bath, and selected bottles of white wine that appealed to them. As the guy who selected, deposited and restocked most of those bottles throughout … Read more
