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Macchu Pisco, the brand she created, was released in Europe in January 2OO5 and its United States availability is growing steadily. It hit the shelves in Massachusetts in June 2OO6. “It’s been a long ride and adventure. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mind,” says Melanie, 31, noting that while all... Read More

LAURETTE COSSABOON • 38 • Buyer & Sales • Ball Square Fine Wines • Somerville, MA Who could have imagined the magical influence the training program at Disney World would have on the retailing of wine and spirits in Davis Square in Somerville? HOW I GOT MY START I’m from... Read More

There are, of course, other reasons Merlot is out of favor with the cognoscenti. There is an awful lot of mediocre, thin, flavorless wine in bottles today with Merlot on the label. The grape’s trajectory through the market has been nothing short of meteoric. Since the overall wine business is... Read More

There’s been a lot of talk lately about avoiding alcohol – the bete noire of many – while still preserving the health benefits of wine, a sort of having your antioxidant and not drinking it too. Grape juice, dealcoholized wine, and resveratrol capsules are being promoted as more temperate, more... Read More

The folks at Miller Brewing have evidently been thinking about that cultural trend, the booming success of both Corona and tequila, and a previously little-known Mexican beer ‘cocktail’ called the chelada: a salt-rimmed glass of light lager with ice and a squeeze of fresh lime. Throw that all in the... Read More

Although low end, bottled in the US Scotch sales appear to be ebbing, in the premium and higher segments, a two percent yearly growth in dollar sales and a 1.2 percent growth of foreign bottled scotch volume are certainly cause for optimism. Some insiders are even predicting that brown spirits... Read More

JOE GOMES • 49 • Spirits Buyer/Store Manager • Blanchard’s • Allston, MA SELF-STARTER After a varied career (construction, high tech, manufacturing, engineering) I’ve been at this store over 17 years. It was a challenge at first: all I knew about wine and liquor and beer was what you come... Read More

Winter beers! Just the tonic for cold weather: big and hearty, sweet and spiced, something special to celebrate the holidays. Just thinking about them makes you feel warmer; you don’t even need a sweater. Brewers move to a different calendar. They do winter beers way before it’s wintertime. “It’s a... Read More