Archive - Palate Press

4 min read

In his February column, Blake Gray explained why the gradual extinction of some wine styles is not always a tragedy. Today I take pleasure in upending one of the most common wine story tropes: the "disappearing underappreciated wine" story. These stories play the emotions like a zither: loss, urgency to

Best of 2014: The X factor or, how I learned to love big reds in Northern Greece

Michelle Locke

Feature Stories

4 min read

In this piece, originally published in September, columnist Michelle Locke tackles tongue twisters and tongue pleasers in Northern Greece. I knew going in that Xinomavro was going to be a challenge. After all, you know you’re tasting something a little bit different when you have to start with a pronunciation

Best of 2014: The Women of Italian Wine Never Give Up

Elisabetta Tosi

Feature Stories

4 min read

This week we will be running some of our favorite pieces from 2014 by our esteemed panel of columnists. Enjoy! When we talk about Italian wines, we usually talk about the men behind them, but in doing so we forget that the Italian wine world is made up of both

Some beers I drank

Tom Mansell

Beer Reviews

3 min read

I drank a few beers in 2014. Here are some of my favorites. Gigantic Brewing Company IPL (Portland, OR) I liked India Pale Lagers better when they were called pilsners. Actually, there is a subtle difference between your average German-style pilsner and IPL. An IPL is essentially an American IPA

My favorite wines of 2014

Becky Sue Epstein

Feature Stories

2 min read

I can’t tell you how many hundreds of wines I’ve tasted this year. Wait, that sounds snobby. In truth, I’m privileged to be able to sample and evaluate wines all around the world – and sometimes I even get to drink them. Evaluating wines in a region often leads to

Good Spirits for 2015

Gary Thomas

Features

2 min read

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.

Glass sippers: Keeping abreast of fashions in sparkling stemware

Michelle Locke

Features

3 min read

Sparkling wine has always been a glass act. It was the invention of stronger bottles in 17th-century Britain that made the beverage cellar-safe, solving the problem of exploding bottles which had plagued effervescent beverages. And the glasses used to serve sparkling wines have gone through more than a few incarnations

Countdown to New Year’s Eve: Vintage Champagne and more

Becky Sue Epstein

Feature Stories

5 min read

This is the final week of our exploration of different types of sparkling wines –Champagne included, of course – so you’ll be able to make a great choice for your New Year’s Eve occasion. Rather than an exhaustive explanation of champagnes and sparkling wines, this series is meant to provide

Wine

Ten Reasons to Drink Port Wine

Wines Made by the Wind

2022 Merriam Blanc de Noirs, 25th anniversary sparkling wine: sustainably made

Random

2007 Cougar Aglainico

Spirits

Wohlfert Distilling Craft Spirits Ride on Prohibition Heritage

Why Low-Alcoholic Wine May Be Increasing & An Adult Beverage Option; Even No-Alc can be Tasty

A Dog, a Mountain Hike and Gin

Random

Cognac for Wine-Lovers: there’s still grape juice at the heart of it

Travel

Santa Rosa Craft Beer and Food Take Center Stage

Downtown Healdsburg for Fine Wine and Gourmet Dining

Enjoy Cancun-adjacent Isla Mujeres at Coco B Villas

Random

Santa Rosa Craft Beer and Food Take Center Stage

Hospitality

Classic Chinese Fine Dining at Z&Y Peking Duck

Montréal Chefs Star in the Culinary World

Recharge-Relax-Decompress-Dine in Monterey CA

Random

Recharge-Relax-Decompress-Dine in Monterey CA

Best of 2014: I’ll have some Roussillon, hold the Rivesaltes

Best of 2014: The X factor or, how I learned to love big reds in Northern Greece

Best of 2014: The Women of Italian Wine Never Give Up

Some beers I drank

My favorite wines of 2014

Good Spirits for 2015

Glass sippers: Keeping abreast of fashions in sparkling stemware

Countdown to New Year’s Eve: Vintage Champagne and more