Penin seminar What a fabulous event today at the Puck building. Many journalists and members of the trade gathered to meet  producers featured in the 2011 Peñín Guide. The short tutored tasting featured some spectacular wines, and conversations with the producers revealed that there are many changes in Spain. Xarrel-Lo and Chardonnay are becoming a [...]

  Curious to consider that in the two thousand year history of the wine world, Classified Growth Bordeaux still retains its magic, value, and allure. In light of En Primeur, I’ll be spotlighting some favorite chateaux and their history. Created in 1735, Margaux-based Chateau Brane-Cantenac caught the roving eye of the Donald Trump of the [...]

Tapena, the Spanish wine from Friexenet with the friendly price, is now available in New York! The celebration started with a party at the very cool Tia Pol located at 205 10th Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Streets in Chelsea. Beyond the delicious Spanish wine and fun music was the appearance of wine and food [...]

Wines from Santorini Today the Wines of Santorini hosted a fabulous seminar, with the tasting guided by Dr. Yiannis Paraskevopoulos o of GAIA wines, one of Greece’s top oenologistss. The focus of the tasting was the 2010 harvest, projected to be one of the best of the last decade. We first tasted a flight of [...]

  One of the coolest events events in town are the City Harvest fundraisers that help feed New york’s hungry citizens. This year Cynthia Nixon will host City harvest’s 17th annual, called "An Evening of Practical Magic." DATE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 2011 TIME: (6:30PM COCKTAILS, 7:30PM DINNER AND LIVE AUCTION) PLACE: CIPRIANI 42ND STREET, 110 [...]

Greg La Follette of La Follette Wines Porterhouse was the elegant venue for a tutored tasting of La Follette wine lead by winemaker Greg La Follette (formerly of Flowers, de Loach) who recently launched a new winery last year called La Follette. The morning began with an introduction by vivacious Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein — [...]

One of the most fun aspects of living in Manhattan is that is a city of "wine geeks" who often happen to work in the city’s best wine shops. Many of  them are generous enough to help me in the Master of Wine program by sending me boxes of wine, with each bottle covered in [...]

  At City Winery in New York today Andi Kollwentz and Rainer Wess led a fabulous presentation titled: The Wachau and the Leitha: A Tale of Two Mountain Ranges. In the course of the seminar we saw an incredible slideshow detailing the very different terroir – Austria is a tapestry of gneiss and schist and [...]

Eva Bertran of Freixenet pouring Grand Riserva Segura Viudas With the high prices of Champagne, Cava (sparkling wine produced in the ‘traditional method’ from Spain) is seen by many as a fabulous alternative. Yet why "alternative?" Cava is a sparkling wine in exactly the same way as Champagne is a sparkling wine. Both are produced [...]

  One of the most fabulous things about Manhattan is that one has no need to jump on a jet to explore exotic wine regions, as the regions themselves come to us. On March 16, Burgundy Wines came to Manhattan to educate journalists about "the lesser known village appellations from Burgundy." Leading hte seminar was [...]

  Have you had Austrian wine? The names of the wines and especially the regions can be challenging to pronounce, yet I’ve really come to enjoy wines. To quote a term from a Master Sommelier, they are wines you can really "geek out" about. So if you are in NYC, you may be interested to [...]

  I am so excited to be visiting Paso Robles and attending the Hospice du Rhone this year! Some of you know that I recently attended the "Discover Rhone" event this year, traveling from Cote Rotie to Avignon in the course of a week and experiencing all the different appellations along the way. Very excited [...]

"You need a valet!" remarked a trio of friends from Manhattan’s Wine Media Guild on a very cloudy and rainy March 10th, as I stepped into the Metropolitan space on 18th street. I had come from several appointments and among the several books, bags, ipad, and set of glasses from my morning tasting glass were [...]

  2008 Macari Cabernet Franc (USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork) color: purple medium + intensity, tears fast to form and fall nose: med + intensity, spice, purple flowers, ripe boysenberries, black tea, dried raspberry leaf, palate: dry, acid med+ tannin medium + … a (vibrating) quality, light on the tongue like a Georges [...]

What a very curious name for a Canadian Campaign, yet oh so … cool.  Actually, the word ‘cool’ is clever as it describes two clear facts about this Chardonnay:  it is cool climate (read Burgundian cool) and the idea of a Canadian Chardonnay is, well, cool. The seminar and tasting for New York journalists was [...]

    So far the Discover Rhone festivities have been a non-stop adventure of Master Classes, tastings, fabulous lunches and dinners, and evening events and parties. The ‘easiest” day wast he first, as there was only one fair. That night, we were invited to the Chapoutier party in the cellar where we experienced incredible library [...]

So here I am in Ampuis at the "Discover Rhone" festival that happens only every two years. The wines this first day are from Cote-Rotie and Condrieu. It is in one venue and all the producers you expect to be here are. I knew I would see people from Manhattan, and run into fellow wine [...]