Featured Articles

WINE PUBLICIST Elizabeth Kane Tate of Ekt Communications organized an “intimate” wine tasting in a new setting via Skype.  Tate’s email invitations (not e-vites) hinted that this novel venture will become a practical standard in wine-marketing and communication.  The wines were real, the tasting conducted communally via long-distance.  Tate’s invitation... Read More

ARGENTINE MALBEC CONTINUES TO SOAR on the American market.  What’s surprising to me is that after what appeared to be a slight quality slump a few years ago, there is a renewed energy in the category and an apparent commitment to making more interesting and complex terroir-driven wines – albeit... Read More

Despite the abundance of fine, characterful wines grown around Verona, only lately has there been fading of the stain left by dilute Soave and Valpolicella industrially produced from flat, moist vineyards during the wine boom of the 197Os. Not fair, but memories are long and unforgiving. Many of the most... Read More

Any owner of a retail beverage business who pays the bills at the endof the month knows finding ways of reducing those dollars floatingout the door or flying away electronically is a “no brainer.” But a nobrainer is a lot easier to put into action if the owner has a... Read More

You can hardly blame a wine novice for feeling shy on their maiden visit to a wine shop, where difficult to pronounce labels and a confusing range of price tags abound.  Even the seasoned consumers are sure to have their moments, wistfully murmuring “if only picking out Grand Cru Bordeaux... Read More

What could be more convivial than gathering around a punch bowl as you whet your whistle?  Little do most imbibers know, punch was the predominant way to imbibe for nearly 2OO years – from the 167Os until the 185Os.  Punch got its start in India, where the drink was made... Read More

TROY CLARKE – President of Boston Chapter of the United States Bartender Guild (USBG)Sales Manager at Martignetti Companies • Co-Owner of 1224 Cocktails Bar Bag Troy Clarke is used to juggling a lot of roles at the same time.  With a long career in the hotel business, Clarke has overseen... Read More

L. Knife & Son Companies has been in business since 1898 and consists of over 2O wholesaler divisions across 14 states, including the Craft Brewers Guild in Massachusetts.  At a time when the craft beer business is booming, Director of Communications Dave Mevoli has overseen a smartly sophisticated system of... Read More

Beer, on its own, is a stand-up drink. We LUPEC ladies can’t argue. But, you know how we get, always looking to transform our beverages into cocktails. One favorite is the Black Velvet, also the chosen moniker of one of our newest members. The drink mixes two unlikely bedfellows, Stout... Read More

One of the handful of elite wines of central Italy, probably the oldest, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, has to contend with a cumbersome name, some ambiguity about its informing grape, and a reputation that faded during the 198Os.  But as a recent seminar and tasting with the Consorzio del Vino... Read More