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A FEW DECADES AGO, popping to the store for a six-pack of beer would have been no big deal.  Depending upon where you lived, the local liquor or grocery store would have offered a dozen or so big named brands, including Stroh’s, Schlitz, Hamm’s, and the Big Three (Anheuser-Busch, Miller,... Read More

It’s almost impossible to discuss Barbera without also considering Nebbiolo. Despite increasing recognition, it remains one of the least respected red grape varieties in the world, an image problem related largely to the relationship it has with its nobler cousin in their Piemontese homeland.  There is no question that Nebbiolo... Read More

ANCIENT WISDOM teaches us that stressed vines make good wine.  Our focus today, Abbazia di Novacella, carries this advice about as far as anyone can, short of committing viticide, thereby achieving laudable elegance and longevity in its wines.  In fact, vines here live no more than 25 years, so stressful... Read More

The bibulous among us have so much more to thank France for than just wine: dry vermouth (also sometimes referenced as French vermouth), cognac, armagnac and calvados, as well as a whole host of other delightful proprietary liqueurs without which our cocktails would be simply too tart or too boozy.... Read More

MICHEL BOISSYChief Juice GuyFreshbev Craft Juicery IF YOU’VE EVER tried a margarita with fresh squeezed juice and agave nectar instead of sour mix, you know what a difference it makes in taste.  So why don’t more bars and restaurants get serious about citrus?  That’s what Michel Boissy, CEO and Co-Founder... Read More

HANGOVERS are mysterious.  Their engendering mechanisms and complex, intricate, unpleasant nature are largely unknown.  Prevention and cure have been more the province of speculation than science, of myth than medicine.  We are, accordingly, grateful for any small addition to our knowledge.  Here is one. Danish researchers wondered whether the severity... Read More

CRAFT BEER IT IS DIFFICULT if not impossible for people new to craft beer to remember a time, seemingly ages ago, when flavorful beers were a scarce commodity.  Back then, the occasional pint of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or bottle of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, now derided by some hardened... Read More

WHEN WE LUPEC LADIES first started contributing to this fine publication the classic cocktail revival was just taking root here in Boston.  Now we feel it safe to say that classic drinks have moved beyond the realm of fascination with even major chains highlighting once-forgotten beverages on their drink lists.... Read More

IT IS NO LEAP of my imagination to assume that anyone reading this is interested in the latest medical science on wine’s influences upon health.  Let us, therefore, review some of the high points presented by some of the world’s leaders in alcohol research at Wine Health 2O13, the Seventh... Read More