Having missed the 1982 Bordeaux futures market bonanza by two regrettable years, any evening I can taste two or more clarets from this historic vintage, side by side along with good people and tasty food, transforms into a trademark “good living” moment. A few weeks ago, my friend Jacques suggested we head over to his house […]
Menton: Reaching For the Stars (Michelin?) from Boston’s Fort Point
Menton’s team would be discovering and learning in only their third week of service, and we would be celebrating a full and exact 25 years of marriage; an intriguing juxtaposition of experience. Still, I decided to ring up Eli Feldman, Director of Operations at Barbara Lynch Gruppo, to squeeze into their newest project for our […]
Affordability and Value in Las Vegas’ Trophy Wine Jungle
I find it exhilarating digging through overpriced, top-heavy wine lists filled with $100-a-glass labels in search of affordability or value. I first remember getting that sensation 35 years ago, opening the Racing Form back in Brooklyn at Aqueduct Race Track looking for the day’s long shot. Garage sale hunters seem to chase a similar rush. […]
Leonetti Cellars Merlot Vertical Tasting: Proves Ageability and Quality
In the late 1980’s before the Walla Walla Valley appellation blossomed into more than 100 wineries farming over 1,800 acres of vineyards in a particularly dry region blessed with extended growing seasons, pioneers Gary Figgins and Rick Small slipped onto my developing list of world class winemakers. I made sure their releases beat regular paths […]
2004 Dumol Syrah: A Country Club Wine?
American country clubs and their wine lists are simpatico; boring, nondescript bottles of wine punctuated by a few “has been”, overpriced, tired Cabernet and Chardonnay brands served up to a homogeneous pool of status-subscribing members willing to pay for social standing. Apologies for these harshly extreme generalizations, but my memory banks were recently refreshed at a […]
WineChap.com: When Wine Lists Matter Most
I am guilty of choosing and patronizing restaurants with quality wine lists first, great food second. Preferring a reasonable level of symbiosis, my restaurant choices are disproportionately weighted by wine programs. If this resonates and you are more jazzed by contents of a subterranean cellar than walk-in refrigeration, or you just need a dose of […]
Wine and Food at Troquet: Half of Uncanny New York Analog
On August 26, 2009 Frank Bruni inked his last New York Times Dining column answering a group of questions that follow around restaurant critics with pulpits as authoritative as his. Finding great value is on everyone’s minds these days, and his “top value spot” answer to New York foodies neatly covered two of my favorite […]
Fantasy Wine Fiction: Dinner for One
via drinksareonme.net Last week Dale Cruse, the irreverently astute and bright mind behind www.drinksareonme.net asked if I was interested in playing along with a new game he cooked up called “crowdsourcing wine fan fiction”. I knew it had to be some neat way to legitimize or make sense of the sensually interesting and edgy wine inclusive photos Dale has […]
Bayamon and Barrilito: Sultry Escape From Snow and Wine
Wine Blogging Wednesday Solera of the Caribbean Sea, Papirusa of Puerto Rico, and the Batard of Bayamon, Ron del Barrilito (rum from the little barrel) offers palates predisposed to character-rich wines a welcome midwinter alternative. Three Fernandez generations have crafted a mysterious, deceptively complex, amber-hued, full flavored rum using the same secret family recipe since 1880. For full appreciation and escape from frozen tundras, you can visit the Fernandez clan clinging to their patch […]
Zen, Hot Dogs, and Albarino
Yes, as the post’s title reflects, there is wine involved. But this simple, value infused story of Willy completely transcends the bottle of Rias Baixas blended white varietals I presented to him a few mornings ago in our annual Christmas gift exchange (I always get his wife’s heavenly spiced papaya dish) on a beach we ritually retreat to near San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the end […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- Next Page »