A DRINK WITH . . . DAVE MEVOLI
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
ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH: THE BLACK VELVET
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
TUSCAN CLASSIC – VINO NOBILE di MONTEPULCIANO
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
PERFECT SUMMER WINE
Spain’s red wines have been on fire in the US lately, with each year of the past several experiencing double digit sales growth. Blind tastings of Spanish reds, at whatever price point, continue to provide revelations of remarkable quality. What’s less widely known though is the dramatic improvement in Spain’s... Read More
OPUS ONE
Every observer with even a passing interest in California wine knows the Opus One story of trans-Atlantic collaboration between two of the Twentieth Century’s most visionary wine personalities. What’s less clear to some is the status of the iconic Napa Valley winery since the passing of both Robert Mondavi and... Read More
DINNER WITH A RELUCTANT WINE EXPERT
On book tour mid-January, Eric Asimov, the new york times’ “Chief Wine Critic”, made a whistle-stop at Harvard Coop in Cambridge to reading from his first full-length wine book, How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto.* The book came about during Asimov’s current post as wine critic, held since... Read More
ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH: MAKE MINE A MARTINI
Consider the Martini. Iconic, misunderstood, misconstrued. Of the all drinks in the cocktail cannon, the beverage you are often served as a martini could not be further from its classic incarnation. Here’s why: 1 A Martini is a drink, not a glass. Referring to the stemmed, conical-shaped vessel that traditionally... Read More
ALCOHOL’S HEALTH BENEFITS JUST CAN’T GET NO RESPECT
Although happy to collect the taxes, our federal government has been most uncomfortable admitting that alcohol can provide any benefit, particularly to health. Divisions of the government, like the National Institutes of Health, and organizations it helps support, such as the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization, try... Read More
Tempranillo as Tinta de Toro
SPANISH SHAPE-SHIFTER The grape we usually call tempranillo slyly changes its character and, especially, its name whenever it senses a new ethos. Probably native to northern Spain, where it is the dominant grape variety, it is Spain’s best grape. It is best known in the Rioja as tempranillo, and in... Read More
Summer Beer
No season so attracts the attention of beer drinkers as much as the warm days and nights of summer. With the swells of heat and humidity comes a desire to cool off, whether through dips in the local pool or lake, or with a cold beverage. To take the edge... Read More