Articles

3/14/18 - The Italian wine scene has never been more exciting than it is now, with producers exploring new terriors in places like Mount Etna and Friuli, and utilizing many long neglected cultivars (ever hear of Ciliegiolo?).  In the rush to explore this incredible variety of new wines, excellent producers in more traditional areas like Silvio Messana of Montesecondo in Chanti often get short...

3/8/18 - Under the best of circumstances, organic and biodynamic viticulture is never easy. When you combine that with a marginal climate like that in Chablis the level of difficulty only increases. This is why we have such admiration for father and son vignerons Gérard and Lilian Duplessis. In an area known for industrial farming, the Duplessis family makes a beautiful array of terroir-specific...

3/2/18 - In the northwest reaches of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) one finds the Wachau, a region located about an hour's drive from Vienna. A brisk journey along the Danube river takes you past epic vistas of undulating mountains and hills striated with stone terraces lined with vines on both banks. Side valleys cut swaths through the mountains and massive forests descend in and around the vineyards. Cellars can be found in...

2/27/18 - Located in Healdsburg, Brick & Mortar is a mix of classic and new Napa styles. They focus on more traditional grapes (pinot noir and chardonnay) but present them in inventive and surprising new ways. Keeping acidity high while still trying to offer wines that show Napa’s iconic signatures, winemaker Matt Iaconis uses inventive blends, earlier harvest times, native yeast fermentation, and nontraditional...

2/25/18 - Frank Cornelissen is coming back to NY (after a year off from his typically grueling US itineraries) and will regale us at a Chinese banquet with tales of life under the volcano. More importantly we will taste all of Frank’s recent production, including a new single-vineyard wine (the 4th in the lineup) called Feudo di Mezzo, and the famous Magma (now $250...

2/24/18 - For fans of low intervention, organic, biodynamic, and natural wines, there are only a handful of names to memorize in the Savoie: Belluard, Gonin, Dupasquier, Peron, Magnin, Berlioz, Lucas, and Maillet are some that come to mind. While we have many vintages to look forward to from most of these winemakers, our good friend Jacques Maillet recently made the decision to retire, 15...

2/20/18 - Sake is difficult. Not only are the labels undecipherable to most Occidental folk, but the flavors and textures of sake are far removed from what we normally encounter in wine. Scientifically speaking, sake has a narrower range of flavors (congeners) compared to wine or spirits, but within that spectrum, I often find myself exploring various shades of the same hue. Nuanced and...

2/16/18 - We recently spent a few long rainy days in Bordeaux, happily visiting old and new friends who are bringing great organic farming and more natural winemaking methods to this land of stuffed-shirts and Chateaux. And of course we managed a visit to Jean-Pierre Boyer at Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre, whose delightfully old-fashioned Margaux offer a delicious glimpse into the past. We tasted...

1/24/18 - Dust off your picnic table, shake out your white table cloth, and get your auntie’s famous recipe for ribs because The Dirty & Rowdy Family Winery is back in stock and won't be for long!  Hardy Wallace (Dirty) says 2016 was a wild year. After several years of drought, some late spring showers gave the vines "a needed double shot of espresso to...

1/19/18 - The polar vortex/bomb cyclone/cold weather might be over, but winter sure isn't; and with a few more months of chilly temperatures, we're all looking for something to keep us cozy until spring buds. I've made French brandy my libation of choice. What's keeping your heart and spirit warm? Though the history of French brandy is a long and storied one,  the current...

1/16/18 - Last summer I spent a few days in Alsace, to get a sense of what the new generation of winemakers has been up to, and to visit a few estates that I have admired for years. I discovered that Alsace is burgeoning with young vignerons who are carrying on their families' traditions of organic and biodynamic agriculture (Alsace has an impressive number...

1/11/18 - We have previously written about the excellent 2015 vintage in the northern Rhône, where late season rains served to freshen and revive the grapes which were suffering from heat and drought. The resulting wines have proved to be superb with beautiful concentration and ripeness, brightened by firm acidities and with good structure for aging. We're very happy to offer two beautiful 2015...

12/8/17 - Among the visionary growers of Champagne, Cédric Bouchard of Roses de Jeanne might be considered something of an auteur. Which is to say that all of his efforts in the vines and cellar advance his vision: that expression of each vineyard is paramount. Contrary to the Champenois tradition of blending, each cuvée is derived from one grape and one parcel and one...

11/29/17 - Thanksgiving may be over, but the arrival of the 2015 Chinons from Domaine Bernard Baudry is really somethng to be thankful for! When tasting with the Baudrys in January of 2016, then again last January, I have to confess to preferring the remarkably balanced 2014s, a vintage that will obviously cellar beautifully. Tasting the 2015s in bottle, however, shows them to be...

11/11/17 - As I walked into the production facility of Forthave Spirits, located on the 6th floor of an industrial building in Bed Stuy, I was struck by two things: how tiny the space is, and how much activity was crammed into it. I'm greeted by a glass of Mondeuse and two men overseeing almost the entire production process for some of Brooklyn's most...