Featured Articles

Mercer Estates, in Prosser, is mainly the story of two families of farmers in southeastern Washington making wine from the grapes they grow. Three appellations are involved: the overarching Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley, Washington’s first recognized AVA, and Horse Heaven Hills, probably my favorite name among AVAs. (It was so... Read More

Based upon my recent assessments, wine from Chablis is as relevant to our market today as it’s ever been. Despite the Recession-fueled downturn in French imports overall and Burgundy in particular, village level Chablis remains viable at a relatively moderate cost and, perhaps more to the point, it provides an... Read More

Her Majesty, the Queen of Pinot Noir, otherwise known as Merry Edwards, was born right here in Newton. I learned the story of how Merry got from eastern Massachusetts to be royalty in California’s Russian River Valley during a recent visit. Meredith Edwards, daughter of an MIT-educated engineer, was taken... Read More

Somewhere, the ghosts of colonists are smiling.  The spirit that the New England settlers not only consumed by the punch bowl, but produced in great volumes and used as currency, is undergoing a major revival.  But this resurgent interest is hardly a rush for rum and colas or a nostalgia-driven... Read More

CHRIS PEDERSEN – 49 Charles Street Liquors – Beacon Hill, Boston, MA Candid and casual, Texas-born Chris Pedersen arrived in Boston as a computer specialist, and turned a love for wine into his life’s work when he became manager at this venerable Beacon Hill shop.  He turned a faded business... Read More

Australia, a continent the size of the USA, seems to occupy a virtual space, not a real one, hulking at the fringes just as it appears on our world maps. Last February, we saw images of the devastating brush and grass fires that ravaged the Yarra Valley, one of Australia’s... Read More

Starting in earnest during the early years of the 198Os, few could have guessed just how much the complexion of the American beer industry would change. It’s moved from an era when a small handful of corporate brewers reigned supreme from coast to coast to a time when the plains... Read More

The Daiquiri COCKTALE With frozen, fruit-flavored versions a mainstay of the Island Oasis machine, the Daiquiri might not be the first drink that springs to mind when you think of endangered cocktails.  The original recipe for the drink – a simple mixture of rum, fresh lime juice and sugar –... Read More

My brother-in-law Curt is a chef, and I love hanging out around the table with him.  He’s nuts about truffles, hates factory-farm chicken, loves fresh-picked fruit.  He’s fearless about what he’ll try, but he’s just as fearless in stating what he doesn’t like. One of the things he doesn’t like... Read More

COCKTALE The obscure cordial and liqueur bottles interspersed among the familiar spirits that line the back bar may be easily overlooked by most bar guests, but LUPEC Boston finds few bottles so intriguing.  Often steeped in history and tradition, many of these strange potions play an important supporting role in... Read More