You are probably familiar with Beaujolais Nouveau, the cheerful red wine that is celebrated when it is released the third Thursday of November. For the last several years, it has become a reason for celebration in America as well as…
Think of Calabria and what is the first thing that springs to mind? For me (a classic film buff) it is the Fellini film The Nights of Calabria. So you can imagine my surprise at an invitation to taste wines…
“My grandfather created Château Cailleteau Bergeron in 1933,” says Pierre-Charles Dartier, a tall, affable fellow with the rugged, camera-ready good looks of a football star, standing in front of his family’s winery with his sister and partner, Marie Dartier. It…
When gregarious Robin Kelley O’Connor – popular wine educator and now Director of Sales and Education at Sherry Lehmann – begins a short introductory speech during a Grand Cru tasting event showcasing wines from three key Bordeaux producers, wine aficionados…
Looking for a vibrant new wine to try with dishes of summer? Sure, you can go the Chardonnay route or set down a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, but if you run in some of the cooler wine circles you risk…
Quick! When you think of Burgundy wine, what is the first thing that comes to mind? “Expensive” is one possible word. Everyone around the world has heard about the famous tiny vineyards where wines can sell for hundreds of dollars…
Do you love Italian wine? Join the crowd – Italian wine is one of the most popular imports; and with over a thousand grape varieties and many different climates, soil types, and elevations, one can easily spend a lifetime understanding…
Quick! Imagine yourself in a restaurant or wine shop. You want a Riesling wine, yet you are savvy enough to know this grape lends itself to luxuriously rich dessert wines or bone dry wines with incredible mineral content. Just looking…
“After my visit to Miami, I think I am going to start producing wines in a Magnum,” jokes handsome French wine representative, Francois Pages of Chateau du Campuget. “Everywhere I went, people seemed so oversized and built-up, like superheroes!” Yes,…
“What a delicious wine!” exclaims the client with real enthusiasm after his first sip of Carmenere, a popular Chilean varietal that was once mistaken for Merlot given its soft, velvety nature. Of course, the CEO started off the dinner with…
“Let’s keep Portuguese wine a secret,” says a vino-friendly acquaintance. “A few nights back I bought a Portuguese wine for $60 at a five-star restaurant. It was a delicious value.” Most people associate Portugal with Port wine, the sweet after-dinner…
“We’re looking for value,” the well-dressed couple at the elegant Le Cirque restaurant in Manhattan tells the sommelier. “A really delicious, quality wine at a great price. What do you recommend?” In today’s new economic world, thousands of Americans are…
… so I’m sure you have walked into a wine shop at some point in your life (probably a long while back) and bought on the basis of a label. 99% of people do. Just in the same way that…
Quick! What is the first thing that springs to mind when you think of a very pretty glass of pink-colored rosé wine? Call me a mind reader, but I’m guessing that images of fashionable French resorts like St. Tropez, St….
“Austria!” a friend exclaims, nearly chocking on his sip of Sauvignon Blanc. “They make Sauvignon Blanc in Austria?!” People have been making wine from the Sauvignon Blanc grape in regions around the world for hundreds of years. For most of…
So I’ve just opened a bottle of Ehlers Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2007 and inhale the delicate aroma of ripe, yet still firm, peaches and apricots. This aroma carries through to the palate, which has a fuller body than many Sauvignon…
Wow, what an interesting quote from Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin! What’s scary about it is that it’s true … at least in terms of what you order for clients and guests at restaurants. Bill Daley in the Chicago Tribute expands upon…
… so if you have been reading this blog for a while you know that I love Spanish wine and food. Spanish wine represents an incredible value, but beyond that, each region is so different you owe it to yourself…
… so if you have been reading this blog for a while you know that I love Spanish wine and food. Spanish wine represents an incredible value, but beyond that, each region is so different you owe it to yourself…
Consider the year 1551. Michelangelo is in Italy, chiseling the finishing touches on his last work, the Rondanini Pietà. In merry old England, Edward VI succeeds Henry VIII as king. And in the Spanish town of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, just…
