Articles

3/21/2018 Bernard Baudry in his cellars in January 2018 I mostly eat a vegetarian diet, but I occasionally long for a nice steak or beef dish. Last week, I satisfied my cravings by making a steak tartare à la Française. There are many recipes for steak tartare, from traditional to exotic, with various choices of condiments and spices. However, being born and raised in...

3/5/2018 [Ripe Ciliegiolo grapes at San Ferdinando courtesy of Simone Zucchetti] The more I learn about Italian wine, the more I am staggered by the sheer number of grapes that are indigenous to the country.  Beyond the more familiar varieties like Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, there are almost 400 distinct varieties registered with the Italian government and as many as 400 other traditional varieties that...

1/10/2018 [Evan Lewandowski  - Photo Taken by Michael Friberg] With the new year starting, resolutions are taken to follow an healthier lifestyle. A glass of wine to accompany a healthy meal once in a while will help you stick to the resolutions without affecting them. For this month, I have chosen to make a creamy broccoli soup from “The Love & Lemons” Cookbook. The...

Loreline Laborde is living the fantasy many city dwellers have during rush hour: fleeing the city to live a quiet life in harmony with nature. After completing her formal studies in viticulture, Loreline left the bustling city of Montpellier to make wine in the undulating foothills of Tourmont, a village near Poligny. She established Les Granges Paquenesses in 2010 with almost 2 hectares planted...

[In the vines at Pranzegg] We are taking advantage of a rare appearance in New York by Walter Speller to offer you a chance to learn about a fascinating and significant aspect of Italian wine. Walter is the Italian wine critic for JancisRobinson.com; he’s good company, super knowledgeable, and entertaining. We’ll taste a lot of very good and interesting wine, including some famous examples...

Pierre Overnoy was asked what defines a "natural" wine: "For us, a natural wine, it's a wine that one wants to drink and drink again! For some, it's a wine with nothing added...but to work without sulfur it's not 'the little birds that sing, and then you go on vacation' (We think he means it's not so easy!). It takes experience and equipment, it's...

Fabrice Dodane tasting in his chai. (Photo: Jason Malumed/MFW) I’ve been a huge fan of the wines made by Domaine de Saint Pierre since I first encountered them in the beginning of 2014. I remember it quite clearly: I walked into my friend’s wine shop and I spotted a big, fat bottle with a bright red label that was turned just enough to the...

Pierre-Yves Colin needs very little introduction. In the past decade, he's gone from rising star to full-fledged sensation in Burgundy and his wines have achieved "must-buy" status among sommeliers, collectors, and Burgundy drinkers alike. Pierre-Yves started working at his father’s winery (Domaine Marc Colin) in 1994, where he was the winemaker until the 2005 vintage. While at his father’s domaine, he started a negociant...

5/31/2016 In the world of fine rums, Ed Hamilton needs no introduction. He is the man behind the Ministry of Rum – a line of hand-selected, pot still rums from St. Lucia and Jamaica – as well as importer of the famed Lemon Hart 151 and Rhum Agricoles such as Neisson and La Favorite. A modern-day pirate of sorts, Hamilton's career in rum officially started...

[Flavio Roddolo, Bricco Appiani] “Entrare nella cantina di Flavio Roddolo e un po come varcare la soglia di un luogo in ciu il tempo si e fermato. Fare il vino, nella cascina di Bricco Appiani, vuol dire saperlo aspettare pazientemente. Flavio e la sintesi perfetta del vignaiolo che ascolta e osserva, schivo ma capace di comunicare la sua filosofia produttiva. Un grande vecchio di...

Back in 2015, while I was making my way through a wine show in France, I noticed the dark blue label of a wine I'd had the pleasure of enjoying many years ago . I pointed at the wine, and looked up to find the proud smile of Jacques Maillet - a man whom I had never met, but whose wines were some of the...

12/18/2015 Although Vouette et Sorbée only started releasing Champagnes about 10 years ago, the domaine has grown in stature, mentioned in the same reverent conversations as rising stars Cédric Bouchard, Dominique Moreau (Marie Courtin), and Pascal Agrapart. Bertrand Gautherot used to sell grapes to other Champagne producers, but after some convincing by a famous Champagne friend (Anselme Selosse), he started producing Champagne under his...

Have you had this experience? On your way to visit X (here insert known name like Mugnier or Mascarello), you pass little side roads with arrowed-signs naming producers you’ve never heard of, and you think: statistically there must be someone among these who actually makes really good wine. There are plenty of reasons why you might not know their name. Perhaps they’ve sold their...

[Geraud Fromont in a parcel of young Trousseau vines. Photo: Guilhaume Gerard] The Sud Revermont area of the Jura has become a small hub for terroir-driven, natural wines that more than titillate the palate. Beginning with the renowned Jean-Francois Ganevat, the philosophy for making wines of nature and terroir has spread to his neighbors Peggy and Jean-Pascal Buronfosse who started their domaine in 2000,...

[Lise and Bertrand Jousset (Photo: Wine Terroirs)] We are proud to feature new arrivals from Lise and Bertrand Jousset, two of the nicest vignerons we have ever met, who make beautiful wines of nature from their 11 hectares in and around Montlouis-sur-Loir. Primarily working with Chenin Blanc in Montlouis, they also grow Gamay, Grolleau and Chardonnay on parcels in Touraine. The vines are between...