Harvey Finkel

When I began writing about wine in the 197Os, few and odd were Argentine wines in this market. In recent years, however, Argentina, riding on the shoulders of Malbec, has become a world wine power. Many of its wines are very good, especially with famed Argentine or other beef, yet,... Read More

A harmless compound blocks intoxication, hangovers and addiction to alcohol? I am suspicious of things too good to be true, but we are presented with compelling data that cannot be ignored from a reputable institution. This is an old story. An ancient folk remedy, in this case Chinese, is found... Read More

The Languedoc seems to me a land of opposing extremes: ancient and ultramodern, enormous yet unimposing, placidly rural despite a roiled history. One finds rustic wines from obscure traditional grapes alongside state-of-the-art, high-tech, Parker-pleasing products of international varieties. The Languedoc was one of the earliest wine-producing regions in France: visited... Read More

Scientific evidence has been accruing for nearly half a century supporting the healthfulness of wine in moderate doses. Initially, population (epidemiologic) studies endorsed folk experience. Then ethyl alcohol, contained in common with other beverages, was deemed to supply a major share of the health benefits. But both strengthening some of... Read More

SANTORINI Now a much desired destination and source of estimable wines, Santorini is defined by volcanic and seismic upheavals. What is today a small archipelago among Greece’s Cyclades Islands in the Aegean Sea are remnants of the rim of an enormous ancient volcano surrounding the submerged former caldera, eight by... Read More

Return to the Willamette Valley NEWBERG, OREGON To understand the wine scene in Oregon today, it helps to look back 6O million years to its genesis in the formation of the land, then, contracting the time scale, review the last 5O years. During this recent time, the scene has gone... Read More

Four generations and counting. Four Tuscan estates and extraterritorial sources. Seven hectares at creation; now producing 8OO,OOO cases exported to 72 countries. Circles within circles. Angiolo Piccini and his wife Maria Teresa Totti of Poggibonsi established the Piccini estate (then very much lower case) of seven hectares in 1882. They... Read More

Folk wisdom (read collective observational experience) for millennia and epidemiological study stimulated by the French paradox for decades have accumulated ever-increasing support for the J-shaped curve of drinking and health: moderate drinking enhances health and longevity; abstinence seems an adverse health risk; and heavy drinking is a danger to health... Read More

If the Boston Wine Expo were a person, it would be old enough to buy a drink at its forthcoming edition – its 21st. Let me take you back to the beginning and behind the scenes, and then peek ahead, to appreciate this greatest of America’s trade and consumer wine... Read More

COLRAIN, MA  An absence permeates the peaceful, rustic premises of West County Cider, that of Terry Maloney, the guru of American cider making, particularly in New England. Terry died in early 2O1O in a freakish accident in the cellar, deeply shocking his family, everyone who knew him, and the wider... Read More