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Comparative blind tastings I’ve conducted over the years of wines from Alsace invariably reinforce my impression of their excellence, in line with my habit of ordering wines from unknown producers virtually at random in restaurants. In fact, there’s no bigger disconnect in my mind between a classic wine region and... Read More

AMERICANS DO NOT have much experience in consciously limiting their alcohol intake.  Out history has been punctuated with periods of government enforced moderation or prohibition and our doctors have informed us of the health benefits surrounding limited alcohol consumption.  But as a drinking populace, we have not yet embraced the... Read More

COGNAC MAKES A RICH and elegant base for many fine forgotten cocktails. One that popped up on bar menus not too long after the cocktail renaissance caught on is the Champs-Élysées, a drink as elegant as the wide boulevard that is its namesake.  The Champs-Élysées first appeared in print in... Read More

ACIDITY MAY BE the least appreciated essential element of wine, yet we are losing it.  Acidity gives balance, liveliness, some of the elegance of wine, and helps to preserve its integrity while aging.  Insufficient acidity equals boring, flabby, heavy wine that may reach senility before maturing.  Progressively rising global temperatures... Read More

IT’S BECOME almost a reflex among segments of the wine community to dismiss domestic Chardonnay.  How could something this popular be any good?  A common prejudice I hear sommeliers express regards Chardonnays whose aromas or flavors reflect even a trace of oak contact as examples of the wine industry using... Read More

No question that Champagne sets the standard, but sparkling wines of character and elegance – and price – are also made in other places, even places not French.  Today we’ll consider those of Cantine Ferrari in Trentino. Located in Italy’s far north, the vines grow on south-facing slopes at between... Read More

WITH THE legalization of homebrewing in 1978, the US craft brewing industry began its climb from as few as ninety breweries to its 2O13 record high of 2822.  The craft distilling industry remains about twenty years behind the brewing curve, yet a similar pattern of booming growth cannot be denied. ... Read More

WHAT COULD BE more refreshing on a sweltering August afternoon than an ice cold beer?  A Shandygaff!  Beer aficionados (like whisky aficionados and tequila aficionados) shudder at the mere mention of mixing “stuff” in with their perfect brew.  We LUPEC ladies do not.  If you’ve never tried it, now’s the... Read More

THE CRAFT BREWING revolution  has always been about one beer, a single experience that shatters decades of programming from big brewery advertising and changes the way people perceive beer.  No longer is beer a drink of last resort, something to settle for, a mere interchangeable widget easily replaced with another... Read More