There are whiskies that seduce, whiskies that inflame, whiskies that captivate. And then there are whiskies like Laphroaig, a big, briny, smoky punch in the gullet that has been winning friends, or not, for 200 years. Peat is the secret to the distinctive, love-it-or-hate-it medicinal, seaweedy character of Laphroaig (la-FRYOG,
We don't think of spirits as having terroir. Amari are a big exception. "Amaro" means "bitter" in Italian. These traditional spirits, flavored by roots and herbs, are drunk at the end of a meal in Italy to aid the digestion. For a long time in the U.S., an Italian restaurant
Picture this: a postcard perfect seaside town in Slovenia, blue skies, fresh seafood and a wine festival. But not just any wine festival – in Slovene and Italian (the two most encountered languages in this part of the world) the description is rendered as “white wines with long maceration”. But
It is a drizzly afternoon in late February when Stéphane Ogier drives me in his Range Rover to the top of a hillside overlooking the Rhône River and the small town of Seyssuel just north of Vienne. We bump along rutted, muddy farm lanes at the edge of a plateau
Wine needs a Nordic Food Lab. I’m not making a call for mealworm merlot or even necessarily for reclaiming ancient, lost grape varieties. I’m saying that wine needs a space for really off-the-wall research, done very well and in full view. If mealworm merlot just threw you for a loop
The people at Jordan say that 2013 was a pretty perfect vintage for chardonnay. They also mention that they make their wines to be food friendly, and they’ve done a good job of it with this wine, which paired well with our Bourride-style fish stew containing saffron, two kinds of
The Bourbon summer season seems to get going in early May with the Kentucky Derby. So last night I opened a bottle of Knob Creek, which I hadn’t tasted for a while. And I found that Knob Creek has stayed true to its signature style with this Single Barrel Reserve.
I have loved the region of Bordeaux ever since I first set foot in it. The enchanting châteaux and mythical grand houses rising from tailored landscapes, the beautifully cared-for vineyards on gently rolling hills interspersed with cobbled historic villages felt magical to me on my first hot, summer visit, and