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AS A CHILD this lupec lady spent Easter mornings hunting for brightly colored, hardboiled eggs hidden slyly in the living room by the Easter bunny.  Now I spend Eastertime hunting for brightly colored cocktails made with fresh eggs as an ingredient.  Once hidden in the recesses of old cocktail books,... Read More

ALTHOUGH, since South Dakota joined the club in 1996, all 5O states and all ten of Canada’s provinces host wineries, those in the east are hardly noticed by network news or international wire service reports, which concentrate on regions three time zones to our west or beyond the ocean to... Read More

GENNARO CATALDOOwnerBeer and Wine Hobby TUCKED AWAY in an industrial office park right off Route 95 in Woburn is 5OOO square foot warehouse dedicated to the art of making something to drink.  No, it’s not a craft cocktail bar nor is it a bartending school.  Beer and Wine Hobby is... Read More

FOR A GUY who barely squeaked by in high school and totally finessed college, Jeff Marx at 67 can say in all honesty: “I was one of the very lucky people in this industry.”  When Jeff retired from his job as Global Sales Advisor in early 2O14 after a 42-year... Read More

ON MARCH 17 jolly drinkers around the world will don green garments, shout “Erin Go Bragh”, and use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to get day drunk.  It’s a huge day for festivities in Beantown to be sure but, as anyone who’s seen Boondock Saints, Goodwill Hunting, The Departed,... Read More

ATTENDING THE 3Oth Annual Wine Tasting of Ruby Wines, Inc., I wondered amid the cheerful bustle about the beginnings of this family company, and set up a breakfast meeting with CEO Bob Rubin to return to yesteryear. In the beginning was the soda company, and it was in Lynn.  Bob’s... Read More

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