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Wine production got its start 167 years ago in McLaren Vale, 22 miles south of Adelaide in South Australia. Its ups, of its many ups and downs, can be credited to men named Reynell, Hardy, Kelly, Manning, and Penfold. Now we can add a rather un-Australian name to the illustrious... Read More

ERIK JOHNSON • 37 • Beverage Manager/Sommelier • L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre • Boston Sel de la Terre, located opposite the Aquarium T-stop, is admirably positioned to do a booming lunch trade and tourist business for its Mediterranean cuisine. L’Espalier, tucked in toney Back Bay, enters its third... Read More

NICHOLEBIRDSALL, assistant winemaker at Bonterra Vineyards of Mendocino County in California, was part of the massive annual pilgrimage to the this year’s Boston Wine Expo, affording an opportunity to taste and discuss the wines she helps conceive and produce. Lovely wines and reasonably priced, they are worth sharing by means... Read More

Behold the Classic Bourbon Drinker (homo redlikkerus). He is white, middle-aged, Southern, and firmly clutches his large glass of bourbon and branch. He is simple and unadorned, much like his drink. His drink is whatever is on sale that month, pricelined to a razor-thin margin to move cases and beat... Read More

Tuscany’s 2OO4 vintage now rests quietly in containers of steel, oak and concrete. In February 2OO5, at a series of tastings organized in Tuscany by the consortiums of Chianti Classico, Montepulciano and Montalcino, I sipped barrel and tank samples of 2OO4s. I sensed their future profiles. I can’t say that... Read More

TOM SCHEISSER • Chief Wine Buyer • Marty’s Liquors • Newton & Allston, MA Tom Schmeisser is a front-running candidate for best-known and best-liked wine professional in Massachusetts. Tom has been the chief wine buyer at Marty’s (Newton and Allston) for 35 years, and has been a strong factor in... Read More

Steeped in vodkas. “At this point it’s next to impossible for me to put another vodka on the back bar. We have 26 vodkas now,” comments Stephen Clark, bartender at Cuffs, the bar at Jurys Hotel in Boston’s Back Bay. “Our main restriction is space. All 26 sell well.” Ketel... Read More

In the current film Sideways, the personality of the principle character, Miles, is identified with that of his favorite varietal wine, Pinot Noir. Many say, though it is arguable, that Pinot Noir is enhanced by the presence of low-level wine faults. Because Miles gets roaring drunk whenever he gets angry,... Read More