More Terrior with Organic Wine
March 6, 2007
Ten years ago, people who asked for organic food looked as if they were refugees from a Grateful Dead concert. Today, organic has gone mainstream. And that includes wine. “More and more people are asking, ‘Is your wine organic?’” says Olivier Flosse, sommelier at A Voce, the sleek and sophisticated restaurant in New York where five of the ten wines by the glass are typically organic.

The Emerging Wines of Eastern Europe
November 7, 2006
A few years ago at the celebrated French restaurant Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, the sommelier suggested a white wine to start dinner. But the wine he recommended wasn’t a white Burgundy from France; it was a Pinot Grigio from Slovenia. In the March 31, 2005 issue of Wine Spectator, James Suckling wrote about a tasting in Los Angeles in which the 2000 Gere Hill Atilla Kopar Cuvée, a Bordeaux-style blend from Hungary, bested the legendary Chateau Petrus.

Uruguay: The Land of Tannat
August 29, 2006
Uruguay’s subtropical climate and abundant sunshine make it a prime candidate for wine grapes. Uruguayans like to compare their situation to that of Bordeaux because of the moderating Atlantic sea breezes that affect both regions, though Uruguay is warmer. Both regions also have rivers (estuaries to be precise) that divide real estate. The Garonne splits Bordeaux into the left bank and right bank. The Rio de la Plata separates Uruguay from Argentina, an emerging wine producer.

Beyond Corona: Wines with Mexican Food
July 28, 2006
Most Americans don’t think beyond a frosty mug of Corona when considering a beverage partner for salsa and chips. That’s fine but limiting. Mexican food is more multifaceted than people realize. And that means more possibilities for wine.

Matching Wine with Seafood
May 2, 2006
Red Wine with Fish (Simon and Schuster) by David Rosengarten and Joshua Wesson, published in 1989, is among several accounts suggesting that the old rule of white wine with fish and red wine with meat was somewhat simplistic.

“The Historic Cradle of Syrah”
January 10, 2006
In December 2003, Wine Spectator proclaimed Syrah as “The Next Big Red.” Americans have consumed quite a bit of Syrah since then, much of it from California or Australia, where it is called Shiraz.

Portugal’s Unfortified Wine Awakens
November 1, 2005
Several years ago, I wrote that the Portuguese wine industry was a sleeping giant. Well, the giant has awakened.

While it is most recognized for its fortified Ports and Madeiras, in the June 30, 2005 issue of Wine Spectator, Kim Marcus wrote that the nation “has emerged from the shadows to become one of the most interesting and exciting red wine regions in the world today.” Though small geographically (it is roughly the size of Indiana), Portugal is the world’s tenth-largest wine producer, ahead of countries such as Chile and New Zealand.

Paso Robles: Like Day and Night
September 1, 2005
Wine geeks often bandy about terms such as angular, mid palate, and volatile acidity (“VA” if you’re really geeky). But diurnal is not one of them. Diurnal—the diurnal temperature difference to be more precise—is the spread between the highest daytime temperature and lowest temperature at night. And it’s a big deal in Paso Robles, the wine region on California’s central coast halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Everything’s Coming Up Rosés
May 10, 2005


Saké on the Rise
February 21, 2005
When Christopher Johnson approaches saké novices in his restaurants, Bao 111 or Bao Noodles in New York City, he asks them what kind of wine they like. Then, he serves them a comparable style of saké. “For example, if they say they like a crisp, fresh Pinot Grigio, I might give them a KomeKome,” he says.

Petite Sirah: Poor Cousin No More
January 14, 2005
Wine can be very confusing—even for those in the trade. Why is a French wine called supérieur or grand vin when it isn’t necessarily superior to or grander than other wines? Petite Sirah has long been a confusing wine, though thankfully it’s so delicious that the confusion is worth tolerating.

Cold Weather Wines
from the Central Coast
December 1, 2004
The average American probably knows Santa Barbara more for Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan than the area’s wines. Despite a wine history that goes back almost 150 years, it has only been in the past two decades that Santa Barbara County has been recognized for making first-class Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, and even more recently, for fine Syrahs.

Austrian Wines Carve Their Own Niche
September 3, 2004
The wine list at Aureole restaurant in Las Vegas contains 150 different bottles of Gruner Veltliner, Austria’s best-known wine. That should tell you how far Austrian wines have come in the past ten years. “Austrian wines basically started from scratch in this country in 1994,” says Terry Theise, of Terry Theise Estate Selections, an Austrian wine importer. “German wines at least had a history (albeit for cheap, sweet wines).”

Wines for Backyard Grilling
July 13, 2004
The casual nature of grilled food almost demands casual wines. There are exceptions though. A perfectly cooked steak or an equally serious piece of lamb would call for a big red such as Cabernet Sauvignon, a bigger style Zinfandel, Rhône reds and Australian Shirazes. The wines should have good structure and firm tannins. Ken Brown, winemaker and founder of Byron Vineyards & Winery in Santa Barbara County, Calif., notes that tannins in Syrah-based wines are not as harsh as those of Cabernet Sauvignon. “Syrah is also more complex, gamier and has more richness than Cabernet,” he says.

Craft Beers of the Midwest
April 29, 2004
Those amber waves of grain we sing about have produced a lot of beer in America’s heartland over the past 150 years. It is no accident that our two foremost beer cities, Milwaukee and St. Louis, are located in the Midwest. When Eberhard Anheuser took over a bankrupt brewery in St. Louis in 1860, America was not a beer-drinking nation; hard cider was the alcoholic beverage of choice. But as the country approached the 20th century, technology, abundant grain (particularly barley), and a huge influx of German émigrés like Anheuser’s son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, changed that.

Greek Wines: Recapture a Great Heritage
March 1, 2004
Recently, I poured some 2002 Gaia Estate Thalassitis for some friends at dinner. “Gee, I don’t remember Greek wine tasting this good,” was the general reaction toward this crisp and minerally white sheathed in a sleek bottle. Like most folks, my dining companions’ only memories of Greek wine were of the ubiquitous resin-spiked Retsina. Today, however, as it prepares for the Summer Olympics, Greece is trying to recapture some of the glory of its vinous history—one that goes back before the first Olympics in 776 BC.

The Aggressive Wines of the Southern Rhône
December 23, 2003
While Bordeaux is France’s most prestigious wine region and the leading producer of AOC wines (Appellation d’Origine Côntrolée, the government’s limited guarantee of quality), it doesn’t have the same down-home appeal as the Rhône, France’s second largest AOC region. Rhône wines, write Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy in French Wine for Dummies, “offer an animalistic sort of pleasure” and “put us in touch with our primitive selves” the way no Bordeaux wine can.

Oregon Wines: Pinot Noir and Beyond
November 3, 2003
For most of the four decades Oregon has made Pinot Noir, the signature wine of the state, winemakers have felt a bit like Job, the Biblical character who endured afflictions with fortitude and faith. Or, perhaps Moses—early Oregon winemakers such as David Lett (Eyrie Vineyards), David Adelsheim (Adelsheim Vineyard), Dick Erath (Erath Vineyards), and Dick Ponzi (Ponzi Vineyards) fled the bondage of California, believing that Oregon was, as Harvey Steiman writes in Wine Spectator, “the promised land for Pinot Noir.” But Oregon weather and a steep learning curve (particularly for the notoriously fickle Pinot Noir grape) made winemaking an uphill battle.

Matching Wine with Holiday Meals
August 21, 2003
When it comes to pairing wines with holiday foods, Thanksgiving presents the ultimate challenge for you and your customers. The problem is not the turkey—but everything else that goes with it. For example, Dorothy Gaither and John Brecher, wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, say older California Cabernet Sauvignons are their favorite turkey wines. Maybe so, but what happens when you add sweet potatoes with marshmallows, chestnut- or oyster-studded dressing, and sweet and tart cranberry sauce? This eclectic assortment is enough to drown out many wines, including those California Cabs.

South African Wine: Melding of Old and New Worlds
June 18, 2003
History and politics have a way of mingling with wine to make a beverage that isn’t always palatable. For instance, the fascist regime of Francisco Franco kept Spanish wine a virtual secret even after his death. And in South Africa, the wine industry was hidebound until the end of apartheid in 1990.

Selecting the Right Importer
April 22, 2003


Belgian Beer:
February 18, 2003
Belgium has one of the most intriguing and varied selections of beers in the world. While tiny in population compared to its European neighbors, Belgium’s 100 breweries collectively yield about 650 beers, which in breadth almost rival the wines of France.

Zinfandel: A Wine Without Pretense
January 7, 2003