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IF YOU’RE looking for classic Chardonnay that tastes bone dry, minerally and understated in flavor, there is little to compare with the wines of Chablis. While the historic village technically lies within greater Burgundy, it is a terroir unto itself, separated from the rest of the illustrious French wine region... Read More

ALTHOUGH, as Tuscany’s smallest, Carmignano is not a well-known wine appellation, by history and quality it stands high in the pantheon. Officially honored for hundreds of years, it was among the first to receive the DOCG. Carmignano may be viewed as having anticipated the Super Tuscans nearly 5OO years ago... Read More

WE LUPEC ladies can only hope that you had a tipple or two made with egg during the busy holiday season: eggnog or perhaps a Tom & Jerry. The holidays have passed but that certainly doesn’t mean we need to pack up our egg drinks. As we hunker down for... Read More

DESPITE its relative late start compared to other great brewing nations, America has quickly, over the course of thirty years, become one of the world’s pre-eminent brewing countries. Mixing a healthy respect for traditional practices with a New World curiosity for experimentation – bundled together with passion for their craft... Read More

REIMS Champagne, the region, is well named. Rolling fields of vines extend from horizon to horizon under a sky so wide one can track approaching rain squalls. Here and there the expanse is punctuated by villages with evocative names: Bouzy, Dizy, Cramant, Moussy, Billy-le-Grand. The River Marne flows serenely, indifferent... Read More

IF WE LUPEC LADIES know one thing to be true it’s that Champagne makes everything better. Pour a little into your orange juice and your sad, late breakfast is magically transformed into brunch – the most fabulous of meals. The simple popping of a cork signifies celebration. Holidays are all... Read More

AS ONE of Italy’s original five magic DOCG wines, Brunello di Montalcino has assumed classic status on the US market. Despite having recently been rocked by scandals involving fraud and adulteration, Brunello has bounced back and remains a standard bearer of Tuscany’s vinous greatness. It’s a wine that strongly appeals... Read More

by MAIA GOSSELIN Not many people can check climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro off their bucket list. But that’s exactly what Dennis Occhipinti, General Manager of Blanchard’s in Brockton, and Bill Ehrhardt, Vice-President Retail for Horizon Beverage Company, have done. Not to mention raising $22,5OO for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the process. The... Read More

IT WAS APPROPRIATELY Valentine’s Day, 2O14, on which Laura Bianchi returned my visit of 18 years ago to Castello di Monsanto. This prime estate near Poggibonsi in Chianti Classico was a wedding gift in 1961 from Laura’s grandfather, Aldo, to her parents, Fabrizio and Giuliana. But it wasn’t a prime... Read More