Worse fates there have been!
The year is 1852. Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire has just become the 14th president of the United States. California is a newly minted addition of the American Union, its Sierra foothills teeming with wild-eyed fortune seekers clawing at a purported cache of inexhaustible gold bullion. In the northern valleys of Napa and Sonoma, waves […]
Valentines Day, like many modern translations of history has not been immune to whimsical adaptations of reality that have transformed its significance from dubious religious rite to that of a full-blown celebration of the affectionate impulses of humankind. It is believed that this most intimate of mid-February observances has its enigmatic roots in late 5th […]
In the Republic of Venice part one, the delightfully expressive wines of the great northern Italian district of Soave took center stage. Yet, in the land of Shakespeare’s Capulets and Montagues there is another dominant voice of the vine that has celebrated the Veneto’s rich wine heritage for centuries – Valpolicella. Flanked to the west by […]
This is the first in a two-part series on the wines of the Veneto. The Republic of Venice, through commerce and conquest, flourished for nearly eleven-hundred years! From the late seventh-century until its collapse in the late eighteenth century the Venetian city-state was one of great power and influence. Its strategic position at the intersection […]
Every individual recalls the moment that they succumbed to wine. It is unique and unforgettable like a first kiss or the sensation of absolute freedom when a bicycle is unshackled from training wheels! Mine came in 1988 in the raucous halls of the Salon de l’Agriculture in Paris – an agricultural extravaganza where every conceivable, […]
Many vineyard lands in the world regale our senses with wines that proffer the joyful frivolity of effervescence. Legions are those who have sworn fealty to their refined expression as witnessed in the consistently captivating and oftentimes remarkable wines of Champagne. Yet the land of Gaul is not alone in delivering delicious sparkling wines to […]
This is the second of a two-part segment entitled, Madeira, Wine for the Ages. Let’s talk grape varietals. Sercial is wonderfully focused and bright with almond-like aromatics and searing acidity and is often transformed with cask aging to something of poise and beauty. Verdelho ripens more easily and can produce smoky and seductive wines of a […]
Each time I have crossed the majestic Loire river in north-central France I have been silenced by its magnitude and power. Gushing from the earth at the base of the 5,000 ft. peak, the Mont Gerbier du Jonc in the southeastern departement of the Ardeche, the last major wild river in Europe that defines the […]
Slave to the grape – worse fates there have been! Paris, the city of lights, seduction, mirth and madness – just when you think you’ve understood her sultry pout she changes visages and saunters off, cloaked in the balmy summer night’s air, turning for one, final, lusty stare that drives you mad! The year is […]
For many Americans, Normandy elicits memories of both pain and pride. Vast swaths of deserted beaches with names like Omaha, Juno and Sword resonate with a special historic and emotional intensity. On a pivotal day in June 1944 while French resistance cells sabotaged Nazi supply routes and troop movements (enduring summary executions and torture), their Anglo-American […]
Hubert Keller, a native of France's breathtaking, eastern-Alsace region, caught the attention of some of the country's finest chefs at just sixteen. Towering, innovative culinary artisans like Paul Haeberlin, Gaston Lenôtre, Paul Bocuse and Roger Vergé recognized his promise early on, training him in their kitchens and nurturing his talent. When chef Keller and wife Chantal moved to San Francisco … [Read More...]
Slave To The Grape 