Until now, we had to wait 20 years for a vintage port to be ready to drink. Not any more. Now it’s more like ten years – or perhaps even less. Though I had experienced some of this condensed ageing time during my last few visits to Portugal, recently I
The view is breathtaking: in front of me are the rounded, rocky peaks of the Tofane ridges, while behind me the sharp ridges of Pomagagnon Mountain jut into the sky. I am in the Dolomites, just above the famous tourist town of Cortina d'Ampezzo which is as well known for
If you play word association with a wine enthusiast and throw out the word "Oregon," chances are pretty high that the response will be "Pinot Noir." For good reason. In the 1960s, a handful of young vintners moved to the state, all passionate about wine and eager to be a
“Smile!” I felt the vineyard stones crunch under my feet as I backed up for the photo, squinting and grinning in the clean midday light. Head-trained vines stood in stiff regiments behind me, the scenery yielding to craggy mountains against a backdrop of crystalline sky. It was my fourth and
It was a summer scene like any other – the sky had clouded over, the air had turned cool and towel-wrapped children waited with their parents for the ferry back to the mainland. Only this wasn’t Sag Harbor or Block Island; instead, we were on Favignana in the Egadi Islands,
Amid the swirl of light, noise and color of Feria de Caballo, the over-the-top festival held each year in Jerez de la Frontera that is part state fair, part horse show, part Easter Parade (think fabulous flamenco dresses in place of bonnets), Peter Allison is making me a gin martini.
This is a common sentence in wine reviews: "Should continue to develop for 10-12 years." You see it all over the Wine Spectator. In the Wine Advocate, it's characteristically more enthusiastic: "Explosive flavors of dark chocolate, hazelnut parfait drizzled with fresh Tahitian vanilla sauce and crushed, fire-roasted Bing cherries. Will
Now that Independence Day is behind us, the summer is in full swing. Barbecues, hikes, and lazy days at the pool abound. And most of us are itching to leave town -- eager to spend some time away from work, escaping from it all. Wine enthusiasts are fortunate in that