Bill Nesto

Vermentino is Italy’s best shot for an indigenous variety that could go international. Years ago, some journalists wagged their fingers at producers warning them that the name “Vermentino” could be confused for a diminutive term for “vermin”. But the trade and the public has, either mercifully or by chance, chosen... Read More

Syrah and Sirah have both become almost as common as Cabernet and Merlot. When I first started waiting tables in the late 197Os, however, it was Petite Sirah, not Syrah or Sirah, which first appeared on the restaurant’s wine list. The restaurant, which had cuisine with a Provence-Nouvelle cuisine theme,... Read More

While Santorini is well-known for its spectacular panoramas, its wine industry remains relatively undiscovered. Vines dot the slopes and plains that skirt down from the crater. The soil is a powdery gray volcanic ash peppered with chunks of pumice stone and black lava. The strong winds which are typical to... Read More

During my first pilgrimage to Tain-L’Hermitage in 199O, the smell of chocolate, not wine, filled the air. I learned that Tain was not only home to Hermitage wine, but also to one of France’s most famous chocolate producers, Valrhona. Given the proximity of the Rhone Valley’s most famous cru, it... Read More

The story goes that when Portuguese explorers, desperate for the site of land, first spied the diminutive hill that overlooks present day Montevideo harbor and city, they cried out, “Monte vide eu”. This means, “I see a mountain”. Today, thriving Buenos Aires across the River Plate makes Montevideo seem like... Read More