Portuguese Wines
In the late 198Os, I accepted a trip to Portugal from the Portuguese Trade Commission. It was led by the late Pasquale Iocca, an Italo-American from Illinois but a lover of all things Portuguese, including its literature. He was the quintessential gentleman, soft-spoken and always polite, but once on the... Read More
Alcohol Diagnosed
A mountain of evidence based upon sound medical science indicates that abstinence can be considered a health risk, that heavy drinking dangerously damages health and shortens life, and that moderate drinking improves health and lengthens life. The J-shaped curve rules. It illustrates that moderate drinking is associated with a lower... Read More
That’s Mr. Beer to You!
No one ever said growing up was easy to do. Maturity begets responsibility and so follows the necessity of prioritizing efforts, goals, and interests. Be it graduating from school, entering the workforce, raising a family, or running a craft brewery, everyone eventually has to become an adult. At the recent... Read More
Cactus Champagne?
Gruetappeared as some kind of anomaly when the silver or gold-labeled bottles first spread along the East Coast in the 199Os. Gruet, priced well below Napa and Sonoma sparklers, soon caught a wave of enthusiasm. Today the winery, owned and run by members of a Champagne family, consistently captures awards... Read More
Nebbiolo Outed
Recipe for a Madman’s Winter Repast Select a winter evening so cold that your sneezes turn into snowflakes. Stoke a fire in the fireplace until it crackles louder than you can talk. Slice open and roast some chestnuts. Set them on a metal pan near the fire where they can... Read More
Lolly!
LOLLY MASON • 51 • Bartender • Meritage at Boston Harbor Hotel • Boston, MA Boston bar icon Lolly Mason is a hardhitting yet deft mixologist. This dynamic, self-taught woman with a deep history in Boston bars, has lots of fans, fine-tuned taste buds; she’s candid, quotable, and both sociologically... Read More
Brewer’s Go Buggy!
These American-brewed beers are starting to find their way into the New England beer market. They’re similar to classic Belgian beers, they’re complex in flavor and aroma, they’re hot with the high-end beer customer, and they’ve got a margin like wine. Interested? You should be; the right shop can do... Read More
Dann Paquette
Imade a prediction that celebrity brewers would become a major attraction to beer aficionados, and named two local examples, Dann Paquette and Todd Mott. It seemed right to follow up with an interview with one of them, and I knew where to find Dann – The Tap, in Haverhill, MA.... Read More
Wines of Washington State
First we must disentangle the state in the upper left corner of the country from the often unreal city on the bank of the Potomac. (There are 47 different Washingtons listed in the index to my atlas.) Next we must understand that, climatically, there are two Washington States. The more... Read More
Cognac & Brandy
As energy costs rise almost daily and people worry about the overall economy, it appears that many consumers are spending less disposable income on cognac, at least when it comes to home consumption. And when they do buy it, it’s often likely to be VS or VSOP, and not the... Read More