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The Wines of Murcia

Murcia lies on the Mediterranean, in the Levante (east), where its still-active chief port, Cartagena, and the surrounding country were initially settled by Phoenicians (those great spreaders of viniculture) from Carthage around 225 BCE. Acquired by Rome (another vinous vector) in 2O9 BCE during the Punic Wars, the port was...
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LBV Ports

After explosive growth in the 199Os, Port sales in the US have been in the doldrums, flat to negative, this entire decade. The larger trend is that the entire fortified wine category has contracted. Despite periodic calls to “re-invent” itself and become more relevant to younger consumers, the major fortifieds...
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Wine and Global Warning

This February, in Barcelona, Spain, will be the Climate Change & Wine 2OO8 conference. Normally, I try to get people to join me for a conference, but this time I’m hoping someone else attends and reports back to me. Just to define it, “climate” is the average temperature over a...
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Beer: Why Not Women?

Suppose your store has two doors There isn’t really any difference between them, just that one is on the wine side of your store, and the other is on the beer side (we’ll assume you have your spirits in the middle). When someone comes in the beer door, you show...
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Wine 2005

Americans not only consumed greater quantities of wine during the year (about 3 to 4% more, as has been the case for several years), they drank more red wine and on average they drank more expensive wine. Blush wine, primarily White Zinfandel, continued to decline as a percentage of the...
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Understanding Montepulciano

Montepulciano is, in some ways, the “Sangiovese” of central Italy east of the Apennines. Though the growing habit of Montepulciano and its resulting wine differ greatly from the growing habit and wines of Sangiovese, it is in the same league as Sangiovese as far as its dominance in the areas...
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Burt Miller

BURT MILLER • 😯 • CEO, Brookline Liquor Mart & Millesimes Fine Wine Traders • Allston, MA Fellow philanthropist Ray Tye of United says he’s “positive, respected.” Associates call him “one of the last of the nice guys.” Mike Brody of M.S. Walker said he’s “a pioneer and a Godfather...
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Chablis

It’s ironic that Chablis, a geographic place name adopted to adorn jugs of standardized branded blends for the last several decades in the US, is actually among the most distinctive and inimitable wines produced anywhere. The signature aroma and flavor of its wines are even “more unique” than those of...
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The Wines of Bin 26

Babak and his sister Azita Bina-Seibel are equal partners in the restaurants and wines; she is the executive chef for both places. She was actually in the kitchen at Bin 26 when I had lunch that day: a gently autocratic presence with long, straight salt and pepper hair, and a...
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