Worse fates there have been!
The spectrum of wine personalities in the United States encompasses some of the most passionate and deeply knowledgeable individuals to be found in any profession. From compelling wine writers to high-profile sommeliers, from visionary importers to devoted wine cellar advisors, from tireless brand ambassadors to wholesale agents, to those who provide the tools and messaging for […]
As we bid farewell to this, the thirteenth annum of the 21st century there are memories to cherish, actions to regret, a need to reflect and much to learn from doing just that. When Descartes said, “Je pense, donc je suis” – I think, therefore I am – he advanced what is for many, a metaphysical […]
Like all Made-in-the-USA endeavors, when modern, California wines flamboyantly swaggered onto the global stage in the last half of the twentieth century they did so with bravado. Brash, full-bodied reds dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon alongside richly-textured, lavishly-sexy, oak-driven whites crafted from golden Chardonnay have resoundingly defined the “new world” style for the last half of the century. Today, […]
It is quite possible that, more than any other profession, the wine industry, whose faithful emissaries passionately extoll the virtues of the irresistibly engaging, historical footprint of the vine that speaks to the essence of the human spirit and its relationship to the natural world, is disproportionately layered with eminent storytellers whose tales have often been […]
Alsace, and its eastern neighbor Germany, harvest many classic grape varieties that have left an indelible mark on many of the planet’s other great wine regions. And so it is, along one of the more rugged and majestic landscapes to be found in the world, where great stands of gigantic, ancient redwoods hug the spectacular […]
This summer I revisited a truly delightful vintage from Bordeaux’s library of compelling harvests. While somewhat eclipsed in stature by that of 1982 – a storied crop that put Robert Parker on the wine lover’s vinous map – the 1983 vintage offered a truly compelling experience with great potential for longevity that was on display […]
Currently featured on SlaveToTheGrape from the French wine press: In the News – take a peek at the new, world-class wine palace coming soon to the city of Bordeaux; A La Une (news en français) – check out what the dames du vin have to say when L’Express magazine goes straight to the source for interviews with three, […]
California’s northwest, with its majestic redwoods, breathtaking coastline and distance from any real population centers nurtures a hearty, self-sufficient individual some of whose forebears, centered around the Mendocino county town of Boonville, even spoke their own, nationally-recognized, linguistic jargon known as Boontling. Vines have been cultivated here since the mid-19th century, yet the great expansion of quality […]
In the late 1990s, New Zealand suddenly burst onto the world’s wine scene with panache, offering up a new, intensely aromatic, fruit-driven style of Sauvignon Blanc that was an immediate hit! These wines were followed by a host of immensely impressive Pinot Noir cuvées that established the country’s reputation as a serious hitter on the international stage. […]
Gently release the caged cork from a bottle of meticulously crafted, elegantly finessed sparkling wine, fill your glass and stare intently into its spectacle of mesmerizing effervescence. As the first sip dances across your palate the latitudinal coordinates you occupy in the world emit a radiance that, for a fleeting moment, put you in control of […]
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...]
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