I wasn't always a wine drinker. The first thing I liked to drink was vodka: vodka with cranberry juice, or a Black Russian with a slice of lime. Now, though, I am entirely too hip to drink vodka. I sneer at vodka, and at people who drink vodka. If I
Back in my bartending days (many, many years ago) we rarely ventured outside of anything more complicated than a martini or a Manhattan, and we hated anyone asking for a blender drink. (“Sorry, the blender is broken. “) But now we are in the grip of the craft cocktail craze.
Passover, the traditional Jewish holiday, has many rules and traditions. One of the rules is that Jews must clean their house of leavened bread and fermented grains (chametz) before the holiday. Indeed, many believe the search into every nook and cranny for tiniest crumb is the origin of Spring Cleaning.
These days, the Niagara region, in Ontario, is all about the drink that first brought it international recognition and fame: icewine. Harvested when the true cold of winter hits, yet shining with sunny, heartwarming aromas, this high-priced elixir allowed the-read more-
Moving to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, I fully expected to be surrounded by heavenly coffee, fantastic food, killer microbrews, and world-class Pinot noir. Lots of Pinot noir. What I did not expect was to discover a thriving scene of-read more-