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Always Hungary For Dessert Wine. Tokaj Rules!

This April, I traveled east across the vast Great Hungarian Plain to visit this corner of the world little known to Americans. Near my destination, the Zemplen hills rose to the north of the train and vineyards appeared in their foothills opening their skirts to the Great Hungarian Plain. The...
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Profile: Mohamad El Zein

MOHAMAD EL ZEIN • 28 • General Manager/Beverage Director • Masa, Boston Tequila is hot. And Masa is a hot spot. Many of the South End Southwestern restaurant’s 7O+ premium tequilas, says Masa bartender Greg Neises, are requested by name. Diners in the know, and regulars are plentiful, bypass Sauza...
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There In Spirit Only

One fine April evening my wife shares some great news: her sister is getting married. Wonderful! Then comes the bad news: the wedding is in six weeks, on Memorial Day. For many of us in the hospitality or retail industry, getting that weekend off is difficult enough; with that short...
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Can A-B Rally The Troops?

ANDY CROUCH To start, why don’t you tell us a little about how the Here’s To Beer campaign got started. TOM SHIPLEY That would go back to the end of the summer in 2OO5. All of 2OO5 and at the end of 2OO4, there were lots of negative stories in...
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What Is Everyone Drinking This Year

AMERICAN MICROBREWS In evolutionary terms, the time wasn’t long ago when the American beer industry was ruled by titans. American craft beer was perhaps considered quaint by some, a novelty by others. But now craft is king. “American craftsmanship is certainly the wave of popularity right now,” says Alan O’Campbell,...
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Try A Little Cachaca

The caipirinha actually represents the second wave of zippy, fruity, sexy drinks like the mojito. There are a hundred variations – lemon caipirinha, grapefruit, blood orange, pomelo, any fruit that will give you juice and zesty oil from the skin – since it uses the same classic South American technique...
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What Are We Tasting For?

Discerning wine consumers are curious and hungry for information that often goes beyond what is in the glass, where it came from and how it was made. They are interested in wines from new places, want updates about the new faces at their favorite vineyards, and are eager to learn...
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This Seasons Harvest of Wine Books

BILL NESTO’S ANNUAL REVIEW of WINE BOOKS Malbec has taken the shine off Merlot. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc dazzles while Pouilly-Fume has slid off the table. Wine is subject to trends and so is wine literature Currently, there seems to be three dominant trends in recently published wine books. One...
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