“A French insurance company owns a Chateau?” the woman’s voice says, incredulous. Yes, one can imagine that most people think that a top wine chateau in Bordeaux is owned by a French aristocrat, yet the world has taken quite a turn since the days that this might have been the case. Today the French [...]

  Fabulous tasting at Aureole in NYC today … Palm Bay had a special tasting event featuring Col d’Orcia, Jean-Luc Colombo, Mazzei, Planeta, and Santa Rita. The private room was full of Manhattan’s trade and media aristocracy, including Robin Kelley O’Connor, and some fabulous wines such as the Col d’Orcia Poggio al Vento Brunello di [...]

  This was such a fabulous restaurant in Collioure, France! It is about three hours from Nimes, and a very cute town. Many artists lived and painted here. Imagine Ibiza with the jetset and you will get a sense of the weather and the scenery. This was one of my favorite restaurants for the scene, [...]

    One of the hallmarks of a good sommelier is the ability to match customers with the right wine, as well as match wine to the correct dish. Only a floor sommelier can tell you which is easier, yet one of the things I like best about Aldo Sohm, head sommelier at Le Bernardin [...]

Hostellerie de L’Abbye de la Celle This is a fabulous restaurant, especially when the weather is great and one can sit outdoors. Arrived just when it opened and thought the menu quite good and creative. I will find the pictures and load them, here is a link to the web site. Like most top restaurants [...]

  You’ve probably seen the headlines in wine magazines and blogs, in which various professionals weigh in about restaurants using Ipads as a customized wine list, and if this will replace sommeliers. Of course, it’s a legitimate question … how many times have you pulled out your Blackberry or iPhone to check on a vintage. [...]

   View Full Album “Help! I need a hotel recommendation for the Northern Rhone!” I hadn’t planned on visiting the Northern Rhone, yet when I had a change of plans during a trip to Provence, I went to the Stephen Tanzer forum (International Wine Cellar) to get some helpful advice, along with eRobertParker.com. People on [...]

Domaine de Clairefontaine is a charming restaurant and apparently luxurious hotel in the N. Rhone. We rushed here after a visit to E. Guigal, terrified we would miss the last seating and miss one of the last opportunities for a Michelin rated lunch as we had in Arles. The hotel is actually in the middle [...]

Taylor Mason, Resident Chef …. it seems like I’ve been going to the Napa Valley every few weeks this year. Only February, and I’ve been in late January for the Master of Wine educational seminar and just last week, the Symposium for Professional Wine Journalists and the Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Auction. Usually Yountville looks [...]

Gary Fisch (stripped shirt) of Gary’s Wine and Marketplace (location New Jersey) ,,, so here I am, freshly returned to NYC after a week in Napa tasting fantastic wine, spending time with fellow journalists at the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood, and attending many of the festivities and tastings leading up to the [...]

  Every February I have been attending the symposium for professional wine writers in the Napa Valley. It’s a great way to see good friends usually only accessed  by tweets, writing on Facebook walls, and commenting on blogs. Of course, it is also a great place to taste some of Napa’s best wines and the [...]

Michael had been a investment management specialist (hence the artful fruition of his winery and the picture perfect showcase for his wines and art) for over twenty years. He went on to get diplomas in agriculture and create Blackbird Vineyards, which has won many awards.

Ma(i)sonry was acquired to serve many purposes. First, Michael wanted to create a fabulous tasting environment for his own wines and showcase local artists. And with 10,000 feet and various rooms, niches, and the garden, he could also offer the venue as a tasting space for smaller boutique wineries that do not have a tasting room or marketing force on their own. Beyond the art, the structure is richly furnished with one of a kind pieces.

  Amuse Bouche at Jean-Georges   So many choices, so little time! As you can imagine, a wine list at Jean-Georges has many pages of fine wine on richly textured paper. Some have many zeroes, some only one or two. The restaurant is one of the three best in the city, and well worth pairing [...]

“Look, horns!” A blonde gestures to the gleaming white fiberglass priapic shapes jutting above the heads of the testosterone-fueled bar crowd at the glamorous new Meatpacking steakhouse STK. “How apropos!” With its sleek, dramatic design, STK exemplifies the new female-friendly, NYC steakhouse geared to a younger, hipper crowd. Under the direction of executive chef Todd [...]

Women at Chablis Event … so after enjoying Grand Cru Chablis after an excellent presentation on the subject, many of Manhattan’s top journalists came to celebrate at the SoHo Grand. Earlier that day there had been an excellent presentation on Chablis wines (read about it here)   Sushma and Christian Above you can see one [...]

Bagatelle Restaurant "I hear this place is like a nightclub during Sunday Brunch," a celebrated wine writer told me as we awaited festivities relating to a celebration of Beaujolais Nouveau, taking place just that minute at the Bagatelle restaurant in Manhattan’s trendy Meatpacking District. "People dancing on the tables, and all that." "A club at [...]

Are you a jaded diner? In today’s power-packed culinary world, many people are lucky enough to visit four and five star restaurants as a matter of course. Twenty years ago, for example, dining at a top restaurant would be because…

Perrier Jouet   “On Valentines’ Day I would always buy boxed sets of Perrier-Jouet Champagne with matching glasses so my guests would have a memoir of the evening,” said a well-connected restaurateur at a recent lunch to celebrate past and present vintages of the House of Perrier-Jouet Fleur De Champagne Portfolio. Of course, you know [...]

Wine & Food Pairing at Restaurant Daniel with Sommelier Raj Vaidya and Executive Chef Jean-Francois Bruel Part 1 If the oldest question in the world is “what’s for dinner,” consider that the second oldest question may very well be “what…

Are you a jaded diner? In today’s power-packed culinary world, many people are lucky enough to visit four and five star restaurants as a matter of course. Twenty years ago, for example, dining at a top restaurant would be because…