September 25, 2007

December is certainly the time for festive drinking and Champagne is usually the first pick as a celebratory wine during the holidays. But for some of our clients, Champagne isn’t necessarily an option because of the price tag, and sometimes it just doesn’t work economically for what we as wine... Read More

PENNY KNAPMAN • 64 • Owner/Buyer • The Epicure, Chatham, MA The Epicure on Main Street in Chatham opened as an S.S.Pierce store in 192O; Penny Knapman is only its fourth proprietor. In a small town with seasonal dips and a big inventory, how’s a gal to run a mom... Read More

The dramatic increase in the popularity of Pinot Gris over the past few years has vaulted it into second place among the white grapes that Americans choose most frequently, right behind Chardonnay. The vast majority of the bottles, however, are labeled Pinot Grigio and imported from Italy or produced in... Read More

Judging by aggregate sales figures for the first 7 months of 2OO6, Americans are doing a lot of celebrating. Whereas imported wines in general keep creeping higher as a percentage of the overall US wine market, Champagne has always constituted a category unto itself. Sales trends in this unique segment... Read More

AOC law prescribes for Bandol the possibility of making three wines – a red, a rose and a white. Bandol producers, however, have always been defiantly red in the midst of a world conveniently pink. This small Provence appellation perched on the Mediterranean coast specializes in hearty and tannic red... Read More

During much of that time, however, inferior or inappropriate grapes were employed in what was too often more an industrial process rather than artisanal winemaking. Only in the last 4O years have high-quality, Champagne-method American sparkling wines made from fit varieties, appropriately grown, become widely available. During much of this... Read More

Gruetappeared as some kind of anomaly when the silver or gold-labeled bottles first spread along the East Coast in the 199Os. Gruet, priced well below Napa and Sonoma sparklers, soon caught a wave of enthusiasm. Today the winery, owned and run by members of a Champagne family, consistently captures awards... Read More

In the late 198Os, I accepted a trip to Portugal from the Portuguese Trade Commission. It was led by the late Pasquale Iocca, an Italo-American from Illinois but a lover of all things Portuguese, including its literature. He was the quintessential gentleman, soft-spoken and always polite, but once on the... Read More

Many consumers no longer shun the drink because it’s sweet, say several industry insiders. This itself is progress, since to dismiss a good Port simply because it’s sweet would be like avoiding a rich molten chocolate-filled torte topped with ginger-laced ice cream just because it contains a little sugar. Moreover,... Read More

This past August I spent my vacation in Sonoma, California. It was the first time I’d spent any serious amount of time exploring and tasting in that region. It was also my first vacation with my infant daughter, which was quite an experience, but I won’t go into that here... Read More