Harvey Finkel

I recently attended a dinner of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin’s Massachusetts chapter and was happily introduced to a wine, of course a Burgundy, of which I had heretofore been only vaguely aware. Clos des Lambrays 1999 and 2OO1, Domaine des Lambrays, accompanied the cheese course. They repaid in... Read More

The Loire flows in beauty for 6OO miles. It heads north from its source deep in the interior of France just to the west of Burgundy, then turns west toward the sea just beyond the first pair of its notable wine-growing areas, Pouilly-sur-Loire and Sancerre. Its mouth is in Brittany,... Read More

Marimar Torres Estate was first planted in 1986. The first Chardonnay vintage was 1989 Pinot Noir 1992. The winery came on line in 1992. Marimar’s brother Miguel who leads the Torres empire in Spain and Chile, helped her get started. (Don Miguel died in 1991.) The first vineyard, also the... Read More

And we are better for it. He is director of coastal winegrowing for E&J Gallo’s premium divisions which means he’s the man in charge of 5OOO spread out acres of vines stretching from Santa Yvez to Sonoma. One might also call him a go-between. On one hand he’s acutely conscious... Read More

Means “craftsman” in Catalan the language of Penedès, the home in northeastern Spain of Artesa’s owner, Codorníu. I imagine that “artisan” comes from the same root. (In Spanish, artesa means “kneading trough”.) The former definition applies here: at the Artesa Winery in Napa’s Carneros, fine wines are crafted from the... Read More

“What” you say, “isn’t it red wine that’s healthy?”“Probably a vinomedical boondoggle,” you think. Well, let’s not forget that although white wines in general contain far lesser quantities of the vaunted polphenolic antioxidants than do reds, they contain more than most other potables, and their alcohol likely provides at least... Read More

Odd name Concha y Toro. It comes from the founder, Don Melchor de Concha y Toro (1834-1892), Chilean businessman, politician, and academic at the law school of the Universidad de Chile. With the help of the vineyard, brought to the marriage by his wife, Doña Emiliana Subercaseux y Vicuña, he... Read More

Much in the news media lately have been dire warnings about childhood obesity and high cholesterol, both significant risk factors for cardiovascular and other diseases that lead to early disability and death. We have known since the studies of soldiers during the Korean War that atherosclerosis, the disease process that... Read More

Burgundy is the hardest wine. The effort to understand it, however, can be more than worthwhile, for it can be the most ethereal of wines. The effort requires concentration and firsthand application. As I previous quoted in these pages, in February 2OO7, “buying Burgundy is not a spectator sport, but... Read More