Featured Articles

Andrew Cabot has been sailing his whole life. In the last few years, he and his uncle have sailed around Europe, down the Arctic along the west coast of Norway, and then some. You might say a penchant for the seafaring life is in his blood. His ancestor six generations... Read More

Tiki drinks have seen a resurgence among cocktail enthusiasts in recent years, and for good reason.  Who wouldn’t be tickled by sipping a cocktail with a pink umbrella from a skull mug?  People are often surprised to learn, however, that these beverages are actually serious cocktails, considered so delicious in... Read More

The Grand Conseil 2O11, this year’s edition of the annual international meeting of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, the Burgundy education and chowder society, was held in Boston in May. Among the participants who came from France, Canada, and all over the US were three celebrated Burgundian vignerons, terroirists... Read More

Without a doubt, 2OO9 is the finest Beaujolais vintage that I have ever experienced. As a major fan and long term advocate for the region’s wine, I conduct semi-annual blind tastings to ferret out the gems, but with 2OO9 the quality across the board was so exceptional that deciding on... Read More

Let’s talk about new ways to enjoy the summer beer drinking season. Berliner Weiss Usually reserved for light lagers and delicate Kolsch and Blonde Ale styles, perhaps no beer style approaches the pure quenchability of Berliner Weiss.  A true outlier in the beer world, one that celebrates both sourness and... Read More

One simple way to concoct fantastic cocktails is to make your own fresh syrups and garnishes.  Simple and delicious, sweetened preserved cherries are a perfect alternative to the artificial, borderline florescent cherries we know of today as the “maraschino” cherry.  Originally named as such because the earliest recipes included the... Read More

Perhaps Casa Vinicola Bertani’s logo should be Janus or the twins, Castor and Pollux. The Veronese house annually produces, on the one hand, almost 1.5 million bottles of good-quality wines, mostly characteristic of the region, on the other, an average of 8O,OOO bottles of exquisite, hand-made, nearly immortal Amarone. Neither... Read More

Our blood vessels are not simply passive conduits, but are actively engaged in self-preserving defenses against the stresses they must put up with every millisecond. This is particularly true of arteries, vital carriers of blood laden with oxygen and nutrients to our tissues under high pressure and often amid punishing... Read More

Marco de Bartoli was one of the key protagonists in the development of a quality Sicilian wine industry. Without the support of the Marsala wine trade, he proposed a version of Marsala that harked back to its historic roots and made no compromises to quality. He awakened Italy to the... Read More

Through an informative recent visit, I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with a winery previously unfamiliar to me, Niner Wine Estates. Located in Paso Robles, it again confirms that each of California’s Central Coast winegrowing areas is distinctive. Paso Robles, about half way between Los Angeles and San... Read More