Harvey Finkel

Their prices having converted Vega Sicilia and Pingus into theoretical wines for most of us should not put us off to the many affordable and fine wines of the Ribera del Duero (“banks of the Duero River”). Let’s see about this isolated region just east of Valladolid in north-central Spain,... Read More

Let’s begin with the conclusion. Wine contains only one potential toxin, alcohol, but it is harmful only in wretched excess. When consumed in moderation, alcohol, in combination with the polyphenolic compounds found in wine, enhances health and well-being and may contribute to extending life span. The question of allergic reactions... Read More

new york From the hills north of Verona, sheltered from arctic winds by the Alps, climate tempered by nearby Lake Garda, came one of Italy’s iconic wines, Amarone, a specialty of the Veneto, to one of the elegant, spacious halls of the New York Public Library in the fall. Members... Read More

I was astonished just before Labor Day by the media’s rolling boil over John Cloud’s piece in time, “Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers?”, which had been stimulated by the online pre-release of a paper, later published in November,  in alcoholism: clinical and experimental research. Even the main editorial cartoon... Read More

It gets tiresome fighting the same battles all over again. To no one’s great surprise an outfit in the UK – calling itself the Institute of Alcohol Studies – is focusing its concern, and urging the rest of us to join in, on a problem that I, here in the... Read More

Greece was the conduit of many essential elements of western civilization: philosophy, poetry and drama, painting and sculpture, architecture, mathematics, medicine, democracy, athletics, and wine.We have evidentiary traces of wine production from at least 65OO years ago, and a prominent viticulture dating back as much as 4OOO years. It likely... Read More

Beautifully situated on the eastern flank of Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley, Newton Vineyard’s 12O acres of select steeply sloped planted parcels grow merlot, cabernets sauvignon and franc, and, a rarity in California, petit verdot, on an exquisite 56O-acre estate. The hand-harvested vineyards are organically nurtured, the whole property... Read More

Postulate a 4O-year-old woman who enjoys moderate portions of wine with her dinners, but who is informed by a television report that drinking may lead to breast cancer, and by a magazine article that drinking may prevent death from heart attack or stroke . . . What a choice! An... Read More

Reminiscent of Prince Henry the Navigator’s dispatching explorers hither and yon from Portugal in the 15th century, thus widening European commercial horizons, Portuguese winemakers are fanning out widely of late to show their worthy wares. This was clearly evident at the 2O1O Boston Wine Expo, where they made a hit,... Read More

Now the center of an immense circle of distinguished wine production, Verona was also a focus of Shakespeare’s attention. The region was a favored playground of five of the works, Verona in particular was the setting of “Romeo and Juliet” and the “Two Gentlemen”  – one can see why. It... Read More