BOOK – BEER TERRAIN: FIELD TO GLASS FROM THE BERKSHIRES TO THE MAINE COAST
Jonathon Cook + Suzanne LepageCraft beer is booming in the Northeast. With area farmers planting hops and grains, and a little custom malthouse open for business in the Pioneer Valley, brewers can now create unique, complex and incredibly delicious flavors from the native beer terrain. This is the story of... Read More
ONE-TENTH OF HARVEST STOLEN
IN A BIZARRE FINALE to a difficult year, a Sauternes wine producer has said it has lost a tenth of its normal grape haul after they were harvested overnight by someone else. Around $2O,OOO-worth of grapes (Euro) were stripped from 13 rows of vines under the cover of darkness at... Read More
GLOBAL WINE SHORTAGE? NOT SO FAST HENNY PENNY
MORGAN STANLEY CAUSED a small panic recently when it announced that there’s just not enough wine in the world and the problem is only going to get worse. The industry is experiencing an “undersupply of nearly 3OO million cases” a year, according to the report from Morgan Stanley Research. Australia-based... Read More
DEADLY WINE
THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT at teaching a lesson that went terribly wrong. A Hungarian winemaker who admitted putting antifreeze in his wine to poison thieves, was charged with manslaughter after one man died and five were hospitalized, police said. The 37-year-old, who worked in the village of Vacszentlaszlo, 3O miles... Read More
FABULOUS FAKES
LOVING THAT AMAZING Bordeaux or Burgundy you just picked up at auction? Be careful, it just may be a cheap knockoff. According to unofficial industry estimates, fake wines now account for 2O% of global wine sales. The claim was published recently in regional French newspaper Sud Ouest and refers to... Read More
PERFECTION FOR PARKER
THE 2O1O VINTAGE has certainly been pleasing Robert Parker’s palate lately. Returning to the role of Napa Valley reviewer for the wine advocate following Antonio Galloni’s abrupt resignation earlier this year, the world’s most influential wine critic has given out 12 perfect scores. Listed in the latest edition, the new... Read More
PATRÓN SPIRITS
Lee Applbaum has joined the company as Chief Marketing Officer. He will replace Patrón’s current CMO Matt Carroll who is retiring at the end of the year. Applbaum will direct global marketing communications for the group’s portfolio. He joins Patrón having held CMO positions at multinational organizations, including Target Australia... Read More
VAN GOGH IMPORTS
Joy Suchlicki Vicente has been appointed Director of Marketing. In this newly created role, Vicente will be responsible for branding, strategic planning, creative direction, programming, and the development of materials for the Van Gogh Imports portfolio. A 21-year industry veteran, she most recently ran her own consulting company where she... Read More
OBITUARY – Charlie Trotter 54
FAMED CHICAGO restaurateur Charlie Trotter passed away in early November. In 1987, Trotter opened his eponymous restaurant, dedicated to American fine dining with European-quality service and wine. He helped introduce the chef tasting menu to the US. The author of 14 cookbooks and a noted philanthropist, Mr. Trotter started out... Read More
OBITUARY – Harry J. Shapira 66
THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT of Heaven Hill Distilleries, who helped oversee the country’s largest, family-owned and operated producer and marketer of distilled, died on October 13. As one of Heaven Hill’s senior executives, Mr. Shapira helped create and design the company’s two new visitor centers: the Bourbon Heritage Center in... Read More