Shakespeare said it best … “a rose by any other name will smell as sweet.” Yet the story behind the name of the Syrah grape is alluring in its mystery. Romantics like to think that the Greeks discovered it in…

By Marisa D’Vari “Free wine!” you might think, driving up to the tasting room of a winery in Napa, Sonoma, the San Ynez Valley, or even Long Island. And you might have been correct in the seventies and eighties, before…

The Sex Life of Grapes By Marisa D’Vari Question: What is the primary goal of a grape? To reproduce, of course. Now you may have heard back in the day, feudal lords encouraged young villagers to drink and make merry…

So, do you know your DOC from your DOCG? And hey, what about explaining the difference between a Dolcetto D’Alba and a Barbaresco D’Alba? NYC has many wine education events. For those of you in NYC who read this blog,…

For whatever reason, I felt rather indulgent these past few holiday weeks. Usually a savvy bargain hunter, I subscribed to the “life is short” theory and chose wines from every major area of Bordeaux in restaurants like Daniel, Bouley, and…

Link: The State of the Grape | Articles | Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Here is yet another article about top trends in 2007. Here’s a short excerpt from Wine Enthusiast magazine where Steve Heimoff compares California’s best Napa Cabs with Bordeauxs…