by admin | Jul 3, 2024 | Blog
“And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shackAnd you may find yourself in another part of the worldAnd you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobileAnd you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wifeAnd you may ask yourself,...
by admin | Jun 19, 2024 | Blog
If the Romans had written something about the topic of this post, it would have been called moratus vinum—delayed wine drinking. It’s a phenomenon that’s best illustrated with a story from the distant past. When Carla and I decided to get married, it was anything but...
by admin | Jun 5, 2024 | Blog, Strong Water
This fall I’ll be publishing a second book called “Strong Water: On Food, Wine, and Restaurants.” It’s a collection of essays written over the last ten-plus years, some of which previously appeared in this blog. My first book, “Message in the Bottle: A Guide to...
by admin | May 22, 2024 | Blog
I’d never heard of him until after reading an article in the latest Gambero Rosso email. His name is Baldo Baldinini, and he’s one of the first master perfumers in Italy. By all accounts, Baldinini has a remarkable sense of smell. He can recognize almost 50,000...
by admin | May 8, 2024 | Blog
I remember my first wine tour in Europe over 25 years ago. It was an importer trip to Germany in the spring of 2000. I traversed the country with a group of U.S.-based sommeliers and buyers for over a week, visiting major wine regions and tasting hundreds of Rieslings...
by admin | Apr 24, 2024 | Blog
The rules of engagement for wine writing are largely unwritten, but strict: you can praise, whine, or complain about a given wine. But whatever you do, never, ever, under any circumstances, insult/offend/trash a winemaker or their respective wines. It’s simply not...
