Articles

7/23/14 -   The grains used in American whiskey used to be determined by region. If it came from north of the Maison-Dixon line there was little chance of corn mingling with the local rye, wheras in Bluegrass country and further south, corn became the dominant grain – most famously as the main ingredient in Bourbon. Rye and Bourbon are made similarily – both...

7/17/14 - Inevitably, there comes a time in the summer when we find ourselves gazing longingly at our non-Champagne sparkling wine selection, possessed by an epic thirst only quenched by refreshing bubbles. As die-hard lovers of Champagne, it took a bit of a paradigm shift to bring us to reveling in méthode ancestrale or Pétillant Naturel (Pet-Nat) sparkling wines. (Well, some of us have...

7/08/14 -   We first met Cheryl Linns of Delaware Phoenix five years ago. Our friend (and natural wine spokeswoman) Alice Feiring had interviewed Cheryl and tasted her absinthes for a New York Times article, and she insisted that we try Cheryl's spirits. There was a bit of confusion: What is absinthe? Is it legal? Can you make spirits in New York? (Prior to this,...

7/02/14 - (Gray slate in Knebel's terraced Uhlen vineyard) Back in early April we offered these wines on pre-arrival. They are here and they are deserving of all, if not more, of our original enthusiasm. Overall, the wines have a magical grace and poise, an ethereal and delicate brightness that allows the terroir to come through with considerable clarity. However, harvests were not robust—at...

6/17/14 - (Icy Chalk in Vertus.) We have a crop of wonderful new Champagnes in stock in a variety of styles and pricepoints! We have fresh faces, and we have new releases from growers we’ve loved for years. We have rich, shell-y Blanc de Blancs, and we have burnished, vinous Blanc de Noirs. There’s something for everyone! See below for a brief overview of...

6/10/14 - Christian Ducroux makes some of the most delicious "natural" wines of France on his tiny estate in Thulon, above Regnié-Durette. HIs wines have achieved cult status in France and are almost impossible to find there, but happily Christian gives Chambers Street a nice allocation. Monsieur Ducroux is unique, really existing outside of the "commercial" wine world -  a bit unrealistic perhaps but...

6/2/14 -   If you want to bring a gleam of nostalgia to the eye of a person of a certain age, just mention the Chianti fiasco (or fiascho). It’s the flask-shaped bottle, with the bottom covered in straw. We might not be as old as the characters from Mad Men, but many of us of will remember first encountering Chianti at a restaurant...

5/31/14 - (Côte-Rotie in winter) It's become more and more difficult to find "traditional" winemaking in the Rhône Valley, north or south, so we're very happy to re-introduce the wines of Clos du Joncuas to New York. This estate, which has farmed with organic methods since the early 1900s, is making some of the most authentic and delicious wines of the southern Rhône -...

5/28/14 - (Gevrey 1er Cru "Fontenys") We're very happy to have a new shipment from our organic friends, Jane et Sylvain in Gevrey-Chambertin and we're extremely proud to feature new arrivals from Jean-Claude Rateau who was the first Biodynamic vigneron in Burgundy, dating back to 1979! Jean-Cluade Rateau was the fourth vigneron in France to convert to biodynamics, beginning with two hectares, learning from...

5/27/14 - (The view of Mont Blanc from Ardoisières vineyards.) Has this ever happened to you? You visit a wine bar in a foreign city (in this case Avignon); you order something interesting off the list that you’ve never seen before (in this case a white wine from the Savoie, because you’d like a break from the full-bodied reds of the south); you like...

5/21/14 - In Italy grappa is as common as mopeds and Fiats. We know from dining in Italy that grappa has an unparalleled ability to come to the rescue after many plates of pasta.  Italians are known to lace espresso, or even cake, with a healthy pour of the stuff.  The appreciation has not quite crossed over the Atlantic – maybe people are confused...

5/15/14 - We love mature Spanish Riojas for the reliable pleasures and extended drinking windows that they offer. The Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (CVNE) has been producing wines that exemplify these qualities since its founding in Haro, the heart of the Rioja Alta, in 1879. We have tasted bottles of CVNE from as far back as the 1930s that still display bright,...

5/14/14 - (The Martyr's Chapel in the Neumagener Rosengärtchen vineyard) It is always a treat to drink the results of the pure, lithe bounty of 2001 in the Mosel. As they age, the structure and crackle that marks the vintage helps the wines to continue to improve remarkably. We have come across two 2001ers from the now defunct Weingut Ferdinand Krebs that represent something...

5/7/14 -  Sometimes we get lucky, and find a great deal – fewer times we get extremely lucky and we find a great deal from one of a small region’s best producers – Castello Conti.  Located an hour Northwest of Milan, Boca is part of the string of small Alto Piemonte appellations, along with neighbors Gattinara and Ghemme.  Here, individual villages’ wines differ slightly...

4/28/14 - Here in NYC it’s starting to thaw – last month’s ice and slush patches are returning to pavement, and TriBeCa’s dogs have traded in their sweaters for a more natural look. All of this makes us thirsty for the fresh flavors of the Caribbean. Rum has been slowing gaining a following among wine enthusiasts, as they realize that the spirits have a...