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Content about French wine

April 21, 2013
Drinking Local Wine

A winery tour in Maryland shows world-class talent along with could-do-much-better possibilities.

A few years ago, a local restaurateur where I live in southern Pennsylvania was not amused when I pointed out his locally sourced menu had no locally sourced wines, even though there were a dozen wineries within 25 miles of his highly regarded restaurant.  He brought out the same arguments that are always used by eateries not located in the West Coast wine belt: (1) There are no good local

April 14, 2013
Bobby's Troupe

In the legendary world of the small importer, every bottle has a story.

In the sub-culture of wine marketing, the most-interesting tales are told of indie wine importers who got their starts tirelessly and sometimes fanatically searching out small wine producers in their chosen regions – the Loire or Liguria, Austria or Australia, Piemonte or Provence.  Almost always these importers are solitary men who bird-dog the trade fairs and spend weeks along the back r

April 7, 2013
Sommeliers' Choice: Trophy Reds

Defining a trophy wine is no laughing matter.

So what is a ‘trophy red?’ Nearly every member of our panel of distinguished sommeliers asked that question when we asked them if they would like to contribute their favorites for this article. Our facile and somewhat macabre answer was “a wine to die for, or perhaps even to kill for.”

March 31, 2013
Small Bubbles, Big Market?

California's grower sparkling wines are ready to fly the coupe.

There’s something happening right under our noses in California.

March 24, 2013
The Charm of Chene Bleu

Wine is okay with food, but it goes better with good conversation.

It is only because I am a fanatic about staying on schedule that I force myself to button up my raincoat and take the elevator downstairs and out onto the windy March streets of Manhattan after spending an hour talking with Nicole Rolet and drinking her Chêne Bleu wines.

February 24, 2013
Cloudy Bay Forage

A journey in the wilds becomes part search for food, part vision quest.

In recent years, Cloudy Bay – the winery that about 25 vintages ago introduced American consumers to Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc– has each February held a small event called “Forage.”  True to its name, Forage is about collecting foods – wild and cultivated, animal and vegetable and mineral – that have as their habitat the Marlborough region at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Islan

February 10, 2013
Mendoza Beyond Malbec

The Argentine wine capital is showing that it has a lot more to offer us.

Argentina’s Mendoza region discovered an economic and reputational winner a decade ago when it introduced American drinkers and eaters to its delicious Malbec wines and their matching beef-based asado cuisine.  Both Malbec and asado are still growing in popularity on this side of the equator, so Mendoza is not about to let up on its continued development of its two best-known prop

December 27, 2012
Traveblogue 2012

Some thoughts from there and here on the passing year.

As a writer specializing in the coverage of wine, food and travel, 2012 afforded me the opportunity to make several reporting trips to Europe, as well as to revisit some American venues.  During the long overnight flights and airport delays, I have had time to reflect on what I have seen and what I have tasted.

December 16, 2012
Roth Cheese Grand Cru® Recipe Contest Invites You to Enter Today!

Your Roth Cheese Grand Cru® Gruyere recipe could be your ticket to a culinary vacation package valued at $10,000 and you (and your winning recipe) could get a two-page spread in Santé magazine.

Once again, Roth Cheese is offering one talented chef a chance to win a trip, worth $10,000, to his or her dream destination, as well as a two-page spread in Santé Magazine.

Open to professional chefs all over the country, entering the recipe contest is simple, but the time to do so is running out!

December 6, 2012
Page Turners for Wine Lovers

Three holiday gift books that both amateur and advanced drinkers will savor.

People in the wine business who know Kevin Zraly understand that he likes to ask questions and then answer them.  He’s just that kind of guy.  And that process really works out well if you want to learn about wine, whether you’re a neophyte or have memorized all the crus of Burgundy.

October 27, 2012
Malleco & Bío Bío Valleys

Over the past twenty years, Chilean wineries and winemakers have been discovering new and interesting terroir and microclimates. Among these areas are the two of the most Southern-reaching areas of Chile, the Malleco and Bío Bío Valleys.

Over the past twenty years, Chilean wineries and winemakers have been discovering new and interesting terroir and microclimates. Among these areas are the two of the most Southern-reaching areas of Chile, the Malleco and Bío Bío Valleys.

October 25, 2012
Organic Wines in Modern Times: Nurturing the Purest Expression of the Grape

Today, more and more chefs and sommeliers, as well as consumers, are looking for organic wines. The terrific news is that there is an ever-increasing selection of naturally produced wines from which to choose.

As we do for much of the food we consume, many of us look for naturally produced wines to drink. Perhaps we feel that it is healthier to enjoy wines that were made with organically farmed grapes and produced by natural methods without added chemicals. After all, what we put into our bodies matters.

July 24, 2012
Profoundly Paso

Paso Robles is a curious blend of rugged roots and refinement. The region’s unique combination of authenticity and elegance extends beyond its culture.

Paso Robles is a curious blend of rugged roots and refinement. It’s not unusual for diesel pickups to rumble through town with Mozart on the radio or for their drivers to stomp mud off their boots as they discuss the nuances of Chave Hermitage. But the region’s unique combination of authenticity and elegance extends beyond its culture. The earth seems to exude it in liquid form.

July 5, 2012
A View from the Rhone

A conversation with Vidal-Fleury's Guy Sarton du Jonchay.

Guy Sarton du Jonchay, managing director of the Rhone’s Vidal-Fleury wine concern, was in United States recently, and, although schedule conflicts prevented me from tasting wines with him, we were able to speak by phone.

April 10, 2012
Bordeaux’s 2011 Vintage a Keeper, But the Dance over Prices Continues

As was the case with the 2008 vintage, the jumbled weather in 2011 had all the right elements – sunshine, rain, heat, cold – in all the wrong places, thus gathering early predictions of gloom.

Coming just days before Easter, Bordeaux pulled another rabbit from its hat with the 2011 vintage wines during last week’s barrel tastings in the fabled French wine region.
As was the case with the 2008 vintage, the jumbled weather in 2011 had all the right elements – sunshine, rain, heat, cold – in all the wrong places, thus gathering early predictions of gloom.

March 22, 2012
Why this whole "balance" issue is a crock

Why this whole "balance" issue is a crock:  At first, when word started getting around about a year or two ago, it was easy to dismiss:  the notion that wines over 14% alcohol, or else picked “overripe,” are somehow inferior...

October 10, 2011
Along the Canal du Midi

Eating and drinking local takes on new meaning when your home base is relocating by the minute.

If it’s Tuesday morning, it must

August 26, 2011
Yarra Valley: The Other Oz

The region’s wines are the antithesis of what most people believe Aussie wine to be.

A verdant wonderland of green, rolling hills, the Yarra Valley seems too bucolic to be full of surprises. Here contented cows feast on a carpet of lush green grass.

July 25, 2011
New Harvard MBA Course: Bordeaux 1999

The elite B-school wins a prestigious wine competition.  How does your wine knowledge measure up?

April 8, 2011
Greek Wines Go Native in the Peloponnese

The Peloponnese, the “hand” of Greece, almost cut off from the rest of the Balkan Peninsula by the Corinthian Gulf, has “fingers” that plunge deep into the Mediterranean. 

January 19, 2011
When Style Is Substance: Pairing Wine with Food

In my experience there is no food-and-wine match that is guaranteed to please—or displease—everyone.

In my experience there is no food-and-wine match that is guaranteed to please—or displease—everyone. All of us have probably experienced perfect combinatio