If you’re like most people, the light-bodied, refreshing Vinho Verde is what comes to mind when you think of wines from Portugal. Few today can name a producer making a “serious” red wine or describe its grapes or style. The fact is, most of these wines are consumed within Portugal
Ah, the pleasures of Piedmont, Italy with its fine wines, gastronomic cuisine, and gorgeous picture-postcard scenery at every turn. Here, in the land of Benvenuto (“welcome,” in Italian) I found it easy to indulge in the simple delights of the fresh markets, personal interaction with top wine producers, and visits
“It used to be that when four businessmen lunched at a steakhouse, they couldn’t even finish a bottle of tannat,” a winemaker explains, referring to the very tannic, astringent wine native to Uruguay. Today that’s all changed as producers are employing a variety of means such as a five day
“It was the 1995 Soldera [Brunello] that did it,” laughs Jan Hendrik Erbach, co-owner of Pian‘dell Orino in Montalcino with wife Caroline Pobitzer. A rustically attractive man with the charisma of a TV talk show host and the Einstein-like brain of crack geologist, Jan’s passion for terroir is easily conveyed
Challenged with pairing wines this Thanksgiving? Though turkey day is regarded as a most traditional American holiday, increasingly it is celebrated in the U.K., and foodies flock to gastronomic restaurants with highly educated sommeliers that are increasingly attaining the Master Sommelier level. Turkey is a traditional main dish for Christmas
“Picpoul de Pinet?,” says a woman doubtfully, picking up a green tinted bottle under the “staff’s favorite” sign at a trendy Manhattan wine shop. Though the label is hip and modern, reading "PIC" in giant red block letters, it appears to have the appellation's ancient coat of arms branded on
“I’m looking for something fresh and flirty!” you overhear a customer tell the wine store clerk, that clever one who seems to know so much about wine. “We’re having friends over for an alfresco lunch of poached salmon and salad,-read more-