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THERE HAS to be SUBSTANCE and spirit in a book to occupy real estate in my library. A good example of a book that delivers on substance is Jamie Goode’s The Science of Wine. Explaining the scientific basis underlying wine tasting, viticulture and vinification is necessary for those of us... Read More

Though value wines, under $1O a bottle, remain the essential hook for the US consumer, there are wines costing $5O or more, such as Almaviva, Clos Apalta and Lota from Chile and Caro from Argentina, as well at all price points between. What has changed? Why do Americans love these... Read More

This is the big red that you can open up and drink without having to worry about whether it’s “ready” or not. It provides direct sensual pleasure that is usually not cloaked behind barricades of tannin. And it’s not for everyone. The potent, sometimes dizzying alcohol levels tend to put... Read More

Three-liter boxes have been used for packaging good quality wines in Europe, Australia and elsewhere for many years, and consumers there rarely attach a stigma of cheap, unpalatable wine to such packages. These contain the equivalent of four 75Oml bottles and are popular with consumers who want wine on their... Read More

The folks at Miller Brewing have evidently been thinking about that cultural trend, the booming success of both Corona and tequila, and a previously little-known Mexican beer ‘cocktail’ called the chelada: a salt-rimmed glass of light lager with ice and a squeeze of fresh lime. Throw that all in the... Read More

Given its consistent, if undramatic, pattern of steady growth over the last few years, it appears that consumers’ tastes are moving upscale. Instead of VS and VSOP marques pushing the depletions meter upward, XO and higher designations are gaining solid ground and appeal among mainstream consumers and the trade. This... Read More

Same goes for if you’re strolling on the periphery of an idyllic vineyard where the “hiss” of a breeze off the Charante River sounds like nature’s shorthand for “history”. Standing in a cellar in Cognac – where fungus lingers on the stone wall and the angels’ share seems almost perceptible... Read More

Macchu Pisco, the brand she created, was released in Europe in January 2OO5 and its United States availability is growing steadily. It hit the shelves in Massachusetts in June 2OO6. “It’s been a long ride and adventure. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mind,” says Melanie, 31, noting that while all... Read More

LAURETTE COSSABOON • 38 • Buyer & Sales • Ball Square Fine Wines • Somerville, MA Who could have imagined the magical influence the training program at Disney World would have on the retailing of wine and spirits in Davis Square in Somerville? HOW I GOT MY START I’m from... Read More

There are, of course, other reasons Merlot is out of favor with the cognoscenti. There is an awful lot of mediocre, thin, flavorless wine in bottles today with Merlot on the label. The grape’s trajectory through the market has been nothing short of meteoric. Since the overall wine business is... Read More