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
Portugal Goes Beyond Port
Portugal’s physical position on the planet has turned it into literally a nation of exportation that constantly has to look outside itself for success. What you see on the map is a narrow strip of a nation seemingly pushed west hard up against the ocean, a nation of many good... Read More
Profile: Robin Back
ROBIN BACK • 47 • US Public Relations & Marketing Manager • The Wines of Charles Back • Paarl South Africa FAMILY HISTORY Fairview Winery was established in 1693; it’s one of South Africa’s original wine estates, where vines were planted in 1655 and the first wines made in 1659. ... Read More
Artesa
Means “craftsman” in Catalan the language of Penedès, the home in northeastern Spain of Artesa’s owner, Codorníu. I imagine that “artisan” comes from the same root. (In Spanish, artesa means “kneading trough”.) The former definition applies here: at the Artesa Winery in Napa’s Carneros, fine wines are crafted from the... Read More
Beer Freshness
Those words top J. Howard Miller’s iconic World War II poster featuring a serious “Rosie the Riveter” rolling up her sleeves to get to work on war production. The poster originally done for Westinghouse in early 1942 and then reproduced across the country, captured what was needed to win the... Read More
Profile: Sergio Mionetto
SERGIO MIONETTO • 7O • Owner/Vintner • Mionetto Prosecco • Valdobbiadene Italy Master vintner and connoisseur Mionetto personally presides over his family’s sizeable winery, producers of Prosecco since 1887. The forthright, fiery septuagenarian eagle-eyes every step of the process – from harvest to bottling – to ensure quality standards that... Read More
Truro Vineyards
Flashback . . . It’s midsummer tourists line up outside the well-stocked gift shop at Truro Vineyards, and Dave Roberts is at the ready. He squires people – with alacrity, a glad hand and a wide smile – outdoors to the tasting tent, where cheerful well-informed staffers guide consumers through... Read More
GABF27
Dropping the banner on its twenty-seventh year . . .the annual Great American Beer Festival celebrated another eventful run in Denver. The festival again gave attendees especially those in the beer industry, an unparalleled opportunity to hob-knob with other beer lovers, brewers and pub owners – and this year did... Read More