Fabulous evening with Bob Pepi, wine consultant and founder of the Eponymous brand of California Reds. Bob’s father bought land in Napa in 1966, grew grapes, and acquired some of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley. Wine Spectator called Bob’s first Cabernet Sauvignon “a Cellar Selection.” Eventually his family sold to Kendall-Jackson in 1994 [...]

Felidia is the fabulous venue for our Wine Media Lunches — it is owned by PBS star Lidia Bastianich — – and you can imagine the pleasure in being invited to join Felidia’s Executive Chef Fortunato Nicotra, along with Michelin-star Sicilian chef Patricia Di Benedetto and Azienda Agricola d’Alessandro for a Sicilian Food and Wine [...]

  Today was the first day of the Languedoc Roussillon Study & Certificate Program offered by the French Wine Society with support from Sud de France. Twenty lucky students (most of whom I knew through my travels) crowded into the Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon. A very successful first day … of course impossible to [...]

  Do you like sulfates in your wines? No one does … Last night at Eataly (the new Italian food specialty megastore in Manhattan) I discovered  Domodimonti,  a boutique winery located on the picturesque countryside of Montefiore dell’Aso, in Le Marche Region, Italy. In addition to Domodimonti we tasted other specialty items from Marche, as [...]

Do you spend much time thinking about the sparkling water you enjoy with your meal? Maybe you should. Ferrarelle, the most popular sparkling water in Italy, brought World Champion Sommelier Luca Gardini to the elegant  The Leopard at des Artistes (one of Manhattan’s top restaurants) to show the city’s most influential wine journalists what to [...]

“Welcome!” exclaims affable Emanuele Rabotti, his exuberant and expressive face lighting up at the appearance of long lost (very lost!) visitors. Perhaps the first thing you should know is that Emanuele i(beyond being a very nice and fun guy) is that he is the owner and winemaker behind Monte Rossa winery, one of the oldest [...]

Quick! What is one of the most sensual, aromatic products in the world, right up there with exquisite perfume and exotic flowers? Wine, of course. The ability to describe the aromas and flavors of wine in a way another person…

    Panos Kakaviatos, who I see almost everywhere in the world, wrote a great news analysis for Meiningers Wine Business International about the new Chinese Palate. He was in Shanghai to judge the International Wine challenge and spoke with several officials and consumers about what was going on in the wine world. From the [...]

In October we visited the Languedoc — our “base” was Agde, a town with 2,600 years worth of history where the River Hérault and the Canal du Midi meet the Mediterranean. From the 5th century BC, the Phocaeans developed this town into a trading station between Marseille and Spain, which expanded in the fullness of [...]

Today in his column Andrew Jefford tells the story of a woman from a small village who said some Canadian importers were interested in carrying her wine, yet wanted to know if they had been “scored” by any North American critics. Jefford asks a brilliant question: are scores actually necessary to get into today’s market? [...]

So now after two and a half days of drinking $$$$ of very fine champagne (as a guest!) I am back in New York and looking for something slightly more affordable for Christmas. At Le Bernadin last week, sommelier Aldo Sohm (who won best sommelier in the world competition and is always winning new ones) introduced [...]

  Bruno Paillard is an increasingly popular brand, and the first time I heard about it was during a week I spent as AXA’s guest for winning a competition related to the Masters of Wine programme – it was the wine served in the very elegant ‘drawing room’ of Chateau Pichon-Longueville before dinner. The other [...]

  One of the highlights of a very impressive trip to Champagne was an excellently conducted tutored  tasting of “base wines” at Champagne Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, followed by a “fantasy lunch” at l’Hotel du Marc, a very private, incredibly lavish, Proustian mansion owned by LVMH, complete with beautifully-attired servers and of course the best champagne. [...]

  Drive up to the home/winery of winemaker Francis Boulard — who makes some of the finest Champagne I have ever tasted — and you will see a modest farmhouse, colorful children’s toys in the large driveway, and … a trampoline.   The farmhouse had been purchased by Francis, his wife, and daughter/winemaker Delphine after [...]

Mike DeSimone, Jeff Jenssen, Sopexa Executive Bertrand DEOUX “Cahors, Malbec!” That was the chant last night at the Bouley Test Kitchen when The World Wine Guys, Mike DeSimone & Jeff Jenssen, played the combined role of an Emcee and Educator on the subject of “Cahors, the Original Malbec.” It was a fab event, featured the [...]

Ah, Bollinger … Established in 1829 in Ay, France, it’s almost impossible to know the magic of this incredible Champagne house until one has experienced a tour led by M. Cristian Dennis, a very affable gentlemen who knows all the secrets (yes, and secret passageways as well!) As is the case with every single Champagne [...]

  Curious to discover S. African wine? Though imports are high in the UK, it’s often difficult to find wine from S. Africa in the United States, even in a large city like New York. Recently I emarked on a four day trip (four days meeting with producers to discover the styles of wine they [...]

  So my last visit in South Africa was with five producers located in the Hermanus Wine Route, also known as the Hemel en Aarde Valley, close to the sea. It was a gorgeous summer day (just thinking about it makes me nostalgic as now, just a week later, it is absolutely freezing in NYC) [...]

  “Dazzling!” This is the only possible word that can describe the Waterkloof winery in Cape Town, an area which is leading the competition for the world’s most tourist-friendly, destination-specific wine region in the world. At Waterkloof, the excitement begins as soon as you see this modern, gorgeously high-tech winery from the roadside and drive [...]

Downes Family Vineyards Sanctuary Peak Sauvignon Blanc 2011 “This looks like an 18th century English cottage!” I remark, sipping a cup of tea while waiting to meet James Downes, who owns Shannon Vineyards in the cool climate region of Elgin (whose wines are sold under the name Downes Family Vineyards in the USA). As an [...]