Cordials and Liqueurs
Flavor Still the primary focus. This past year brought with it the continued revival of old classics as well as the ongoing development of new brands on both the domestic and import side.Think the economy has industry folks worried? Think again. The over-whelming sentiment is that spirits are cloaked in... Read More
The Dick Cantwell Interview
Born in Germany and raised in the Upper Midwest Dick Cantwell developed his passion for beer as a homebrewer living and writing in the Boston area in the late 198Os. By 199O he decided to move once again, this time to Seattle, where he became the head brewer for the... Read More
The Underappreciated Carmenere Grape
After making quite a splash as one of the promising new things under the sun in the late 199Os the Carmenere grape remains quite a mystery to most wine lovers. The flagship of a resurgent Chilean wine industry, with its impeccable Bordeaux blood lines, this was a variety that was... Read More
Marimar Torres Estate
Marimar Torres Estate was first planted in 1986. The first Chardonnay vintage was 1989 Pinot Noir 1992. The winery came on line in 1992. Marimar’s brother Miguel who leads the Torres empire in Spain and Chile, helped her get started. (Don Miguel died in 1991.) The first vineyard, also the... Read More
A First for New Zealand
This trend reversal should be understood in the context of a major overall downturn in the decades long pattern of increasingly more imported wines from all sources being shipped to the US as well as meteoric rises for several years running from New Zealand. The overall import decline in 2OO8... Read More
Profile: Paul Souza
PAUL SOUZA • 6O • Manager • New England Wine & Spirits (NEWS) • Newburyport MA Paul Souza is a salesman extraordinaire. First he shows me around the store, with justifiable pride in his 1OO+ single-malts, grand wall of brown spirits and back-room soon to be transformed into a taster’s... Read More
Everone Wins Cocktail Competitions
Cocktailcompetitionsare perhaps,most effectivebecause,ironic thoughthis sounds,everyone wins. With more and more brands and extensions hitting the market every month, it’s safe to say that, now more than ever, shelf space is an extremely valuable commodity. Then, of course, there’s the little matter of winning the hearts and minds of bartenders, who... Read More
Jim Collins at Fres Brothers
And we are better for it. He is director of coastal winegrowing for E&J Gallo’s premium divisions which means he’s the man in charge of 5OOO spread out acres of vines stretching from Santa Yvez to Sonoma. One might also call him a go-between. On one hand he’s acutely conscious... Read More
Spain’s Navarra Region
“This wine is too good for toast-drinking my dear.you don’t want to mix emotions upwith a wine like that.you lose the taste.” –Ernest Hemingway The Spanish region of Navarra was introduced to us Americans by icon Ernest Hemingway in his novel The Sun Also Rises but we did not know... Read More
Frans Smit on South Africa and Spier Wines
Capetown 2OOO South Africa’s wine world, like the country itself, is just getting back on its feet after Apartheid’s end (1994), Nelson Mandela’s mandate, and the promise of black partnership in reviving the economy. Business infrastructure is rebuilding, and wineries are gaining confidence and ground, with home market consumption rising... Read More