… fabulous experience today tasting the wines of Sartori di Verona at SD26, a fine Italian restaurant in Manhattan, where these excellent wines were paired with five courses. What made the tasting lunch so special was the passion of owner Andrea Sartori, who came across as a very traditionally-minded Italian of the classic world. In [...]

Do you see this beautiful chateau in the picture above? During En Primeur week, owner Paulin Calvet walked down these famous stone steps to greet me and walk me up the impressive entrance of his Chateau. During this week, journalists are divided into small groups to taste the wines of various regions each day. I [...]

Imagine being taken deep inside the caves of Champagne Vilmart and its owner/winemaker Laurent Champs asking which of its golden tresures (behind lock and key) you wanted to break open? Laurent himself chose the above vintage bottles which includes a ’93 Cellier D’Or as well as several more recent vintages … The day began with [...]

Don’t the glasses above looking tempting? Herve Deschamps, the chef de cave, was in a different part of France that day yet enjoyed a fabulous tour and tasting.  You might not be aware of the history … the winery opened in 1811 … Pierre Perrier developed the vineyards in the family of his wife Rose [...]

I So after visiting the three champagne festivals, I was lucky enough to get a VIP tour of Champagne G.H. Mumm in Reims. It was a cool cloudy day with rain sometimes showering through the occasional glimpses of sun — and the G.H. Mumm is right in the city – I took a cab. On [...]

So Les Artisans du Champagne was the last fair in this three day festival, and though not the oldest, seemed for some reason the most “old school” — perhaps because the percentage of extremely well known smaller houses were so prevailent. One had the chance to speak one on one with the winemakers and/or owners [...]

So fab! The day started out great with a glass in my hand and a few dozen producers pouring their vin clairs and champagne. I would llke to say all were fabulous –  yet will modify this by saying all were clean and precise and from that point it is personal taste.  Many people from [...]

Wow it is so exciting to be here and meet the growers. I am in Epernay at the Terroirs & Talents de Champagne tasting at the Au Restuarante Theatre.  It is the same glamorous red-themed restaurant where the CIVC took educators in November, yet upstairs. On the way to my hotel Clos Raymi in Eperney, [...]

I am SO excited to visit Champagne next week! I heard about the three festivals on LinkedIn from Jiles Halling (My Man in Champagne) and he has been very helpful in helping me set up the trip. The first event is  Terroirs et Talents de Champagne and  takes place in Epernay on  Sunday 15th April [...]

“What a fabulous resource!” This was my first thought when clicking into the fabulously detailed online course called “Discovering the World of Wine” co-authored by highly credentialed writers/educators Patricia Savoie and Ron Kapon (also Fairleigh Dickinson University’s wine course professor for 16 years) and underwritten by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s school of International hospitality and The [...]

“What a gorgeous chateau!” I am here, inside Chateau Lafton-Rochet, speaking with Basile Tesseron, the son of the owner. Other journalists from around the world are here to taste the 2011 vintage of wines from Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estephe, and Haut-Medoc. These represent some of my favorite vintages in Bordeaux and overall, the quality is excellent. [...]

    On April 4, I was invited to a fabulous party celebrating the marriage of art and wine. Each year, Henri Lurton, owner and winemaker of the 2nd Growth Brane-Cantenac in Marguax, invites an artist (of song, photography, other forms of art) to kick off the new vintage. Last week,  Eric Boissenot, a famous [...]

  See that turret? Can you imagine how exciting it would be to spend a few nights in it? That was one of the most incredible experiences of my life living in that fairy tale castle for a few days as a result of a scholarship I won from an AXA sponsored competition for Master [...]

Are you curious about collecting wine? As a journalist, I’ve written about the subject quite a lot … knowing the wines that will increase in value is especially important now, as I have just returned from Bordeaux to taste the 2011 vintage. You can see some early reports here: Tonight Hristo Zisovski, Beverage Director at [...]

  “Welcome!” says vivacious yet petite Laure d’Aramon, nee Manencourt, who grew up at Chateau Figeac. The driver has just deposited me at this famous wine estate in Saint-Emilion and since I have a small collection at home, am very excited to talk about the wine and taste some classic vintages during dinner. At 8:00, [...]

“2011 was a tricky year that required precision and care,” Florence Cathiard explained, standing in the picture above near husband Daniel, before a tasting of the 2011 Smith Haut Lafitte vintage.  “It was especially important to pay close attention to the tannins.” Luckily, all the care of the Smith Haut Lafitte team worked out, for [...]

“Do you know the significance of a golden carrot? Especially when 14 people are dining with you?” The spell-like meaning of a carrot with a gold sauce, served to 14 people, is luck. Perhaps today at En Primeur with the tasting of Haut Medoc and Pauillac and Saint Estephe it means “luck for the vintage” [...]

“Krug champagne!” Well, what else would you expect when having dinner with Jean-Michel and Jean-Charles Cazes at the restaurant inside the exclusive Cordeillan-Bages hotel in Pauillac. The hotel (managed by Relais & Chateau) is gorgeous and the atmosphere is very refined and relaxed. We are gathered together to experience the talent of the new chef, [...]

  “There are five essential conditions for a quality vintage,” says famed professor Denis Dubourdieu, speaking in front of over a hundred journalists from virtually every corner of the world. We gathered together at Chateau La Lagune, where the vat room I visited several years ago had been cleaned out and filled with many seats [...]

… so here I am, a Chateau Fourcas Dupre, tasting an incredible line-up of more than forty wines. The day started off as every day should … in a Relais & Chateau hotel called Chateau Cordeillan Bages owned by the Cazes family. It is an incredible and very elegant hotel. Chateau Fourcas Dupre is a [...]