Make your own dry rub

Sean Martin
Features
5 min read
One of my favorite experiences when grilling or firing up the barbecue is the inevitable inquiry about whether I make my own rubs from scratch.  And typically when I say yes, it seems to evoke a sense of wonder, as if the idea of making a homemade rub is steeped

Catching up with Cognac

Michelle Locke
Feature Stories
4 min read
You know you’re going old school when your guide opens a cellar door in Cognac and a bat comes flying at you. True story. And don’t get me started on the spiders. But while there’s beaucoup de history, heritage and cobwebby verisimilitude to be found in the home of France’s premium brown

Retsina Revolution

Simon J Woolf
Feature Stories
3 min read
Only half a year ago I was bemoaning the rise and rise of flavoured wines, when in May I found myself in a serious wine tasting being asked to evaluate one. No, it wasn't a “Rosé Pamplemousse”, “Girls night out Strawberry Samba” or “Gallo Brothers Wild Vines Raspberry Zinfandel” (I

Is wine becoming sweeter?

Erika Szymanski
Features
5 min read
Last week, the Smithsonian broke conceptual ground on a frozen “botanical garden,” storing samples of current plant life for future eventualities. I wish someone had thought to do the same for wine over the centuries, but freezing wasn't invented early enough. Even the glass bottle wasn't invented in time for

Wine museums: Drinking with culture

Elisabetta Tosi
Feature Stories
3 min read
What if you decide to visit a wine collection on your vacation or, even better, a museum entirely devoted to the amazing world of wine, for a change? When we say that “wine is culture” we are not just repeating a tremendous cliché, we are stating a simple truth. Wine