Worse fates there have been!
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, […]
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 […]
While San Francisco has been synonymous with gastronomy and fine wine for some time, at the end of the last century, back in the heady days of the dot.com boom, a veritable explosion of newly-minted, passionate and dedicated food and wine professionals moved the region to a new level. Of the many sommeliers/gastronomes to have left an […]
While California has built it’s reputation on king Cabernet (think Sauvignon) and continues its perpetual love affair with the world’s most feted, golden grape Chardonnay, its viticultural landscape of the last few years has witnessed a burst of diversity. Today, as the region’s body of wine artisans continues to build world-class domains producing bottlings across a […]
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. […]
Boris Champy is a soft-spoken winemaker whose focused demeanor speaks of a passion motivated by a singular objective – to seize each opportunity and create world-class wines . He currently directs a team of like-minded individuals at one of Burgundy’s most prestigious domains – the house of Louis Latour. I spoke with him in late March about his career in the industry. (This is […]
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 […]
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 