Wine Reviews

3 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) (Click here to read Alsace – Part 2) (Click here to read...

A Traditional-Style Small Farmer – That’s What Winemaker Agathe Bursin Would Call Herself (Alsace – Day 4)

3 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) (Click here to read Alsace – Part 2) (Click here to read...

A Way of Life: A Small Family Winery, Built on 500 Years of Alsace Tradition (Alsace – Part 3)

2 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) (Click here to read Alsace – Part 2) Seriously, can you think...

What If Your Mother Was a Winemaker? (Alsace – Part 2)

2 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) What would you do if your mother suddenly started making wine? Well,...

What Do You Talk About With Someone Whose Family Started Making Wine in the 17th Century? (Alsace – PART 1)

Features Spirit Reviews Wine Reviews

2 min read

I recently spent a (virtual) week in Alsace, France getting to know the wines through a handful of small, family...

What We’re Drinking – Gonzalez Byass “La Copa” Vermouth

David Honig

1 min read

Cocktail lovers, take heed. This new sherry-based vermouth from Gonzalez Byass is going to give you something to shout about....

2018 Cedar + Salmon Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley

1 min read

Much bigger and more tropical than the European pinot gris and pinot grigio wines I’m used to, this wine was...

Plush and Forward Thinking: 2018 Alma Rosa Winery La Encantada Blanc

1 min read

Santa Barbara County’s pioneering winemaker Richard Sanford has been known for his unexpectedly wonderful wines for many decades. He was...

To Drink before Dinner: 2017 Ron Rubin Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

1 min read

When I opened this wine before dinner I found it way too easy to drink. There’s an appealing lively acidity...

A Good Choice for a Warm Evening: 2016 Tenuta di Fessina Erse Etna Rosso

1 min read

“Volcanic wine” is an important new subset of vital wines. Grapevines grown on volcanic soils can impart more complexity to...

A Red Blend and a Resort: 2018 Herdade Dos Grous Red

1 min read

The wine has an earthiness in its aroma and tannins, a vigorous structure and fruit-forward, ripe dark plum flavors, with...

2014 Carmin Reguengos Garrafeira Dos Sócios

1 min read

This richly textured wine is released after 30 months in oak and a further twelve in bottle. The wine is...

Lively yet Sustainable: 2018 Esporão Colheita Branco

1 min read

Made by a large, innovative, family-owned company with organically certified grapes from their own vineyards. Most Portuguese white wines are...

New Rare Wine from a Historic Grape: 2017 Cameron Hughes Muscat Canelli Lot 648

1 min read

Very dusty bottles, nearly hidden at the back of shelf in an old wine shop: this was my first encounter...

Summer Cognac: REMY MARTIN COGNAC VSOP

1 min read

At the end of a hot summer day, you might be wandering along the riverside in the town of Cognac,...

Mezcal Convite Esencial Joven PDO — Far from Basic

1 min read

While there are many agave spirit lovers whose hearts belong to tequila, I’m also part of the mezcal minority: the...

Red wine to chill: 2016 Les Cadrans de Lassègue Saint Emilion Crand Cru

1 min read

This is a red wine you can chill for a bit, to enjoy during the summer. Even though it’s from...

Lively Chilean Red Wine: 2017 Ventisquero Grey Glacier Single Block Carménère

1 min read

This wine is made with grapes grown in one particular block of the coastal vineyards of Chile’s Maipo Valley, and...

2018 Pam’s Unoaked Chardonnay

1 min read

In this very moderately-price California chardonnay, a nice herby aroma is surprisingly followed by a feeling of sweetness on the...

Quintessential Sonoma Chardonnay: 2018 Jordan Russian River Valley Chardonnay

1 min read

How often do you open a wine and get just what you’re hoping for? For me, this was one of...

Champagne Updated: Celebrating a Sustainable Region

3 min read

CHAMPAGNE IN HISTORY For centuries, Champagne producers were focused on one thing: inspiring us to drink Champagne. Then they were...

Wines of the Past and Future in Alsace (Alsace – Part 5)

3 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) (Click here to read Alsace – Part 2) (Click here to read...

A Traditional-Style Small Farmer – That’s What Winemaker Agathe Bursin Would Call Herself (Alsace – Day 4)

3 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) (Click here to read Alsace – Part 2) (Click here to read...

A Way of Life: A Small Family Winery, Built on 500 Years of Alsace Tradition (Alsace – Part 3)

2 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) (Click here to read Alsace – Part 2) Seriously, can you think...

What If Your Mother Was a Winemaker? (Alsace – Part 2)

2 min read

(Click here to read Alsace – Part 1) What would you do if your mother suddenly started making wine? Well,...

What Do You Talk About With Someone Whose Family Started Making Wine in the 17th Century? (Alsace – PART 1)

2 min read

I recently spent a (virtual) week in Alsace, France getting to know the wines through a handful of small, family...

The search for high-quality Cava begins in Penedès

Tracy Ellen Kamens

5 min read

As sparkling wines continue to grow in sales in the U.S., wine drinkers are looking for alternatives to Champagne, but...

How Valais put the charm in Chasselas

Simon J Woolf