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Portugal is the world’s tenth largest wine producer but, outside of Port, its wines remain somewhat of a mystery in the US.  About fifteen years ago I devoted considerable effort to importing and marketing Portuguese wines here because of the challenge of representing a country with a rich heritage and... Read More

KIRSTEN AMANN, BRAND CHAMPION for FRATELLI BRANCA, LUPEC LADY and WRITER EXTRAORDINAIREIt’s hard to pigeonhole Kirsten Amann as just one thing.  She’s known as the bartender’s best friend in her role as Boston’s brand ambassador for the bitter, cultish Fernet Branca liqueur.  She writes a cocktail column in this publication... Read More

The seasonal variety of craft beer is perhaps its greatest selling point for both consumers and retailers.  When the weather shifts from warm days to chilly nights, frost-nipped beer lovers turn to rich, hearty beers – including bocks, dubbels and imperial porters – to help them cope with the seasonal... Read More

Your holiday dance card is surely full of fetes, parties and soirees.  Chances are that for at least one such occasion, you’re tasked with bringing something delicious.  Why not come armed with punch?  We LUPEC ladies are fond of following very traditional recipes for our punches.  Why not?  If a... Read More

 There’s a chill in the air, tiny white lights twinkle on at dusk, festive music is playing everywhere and bells are jingling outside of the shops. Don’t look now but the holidays are upon us with a vengeance.  Your customers will soon be revving up their shopping as they seek... Read More

BRAND MANAGER for CISCO BREWERS, TRIPLE EIGHT DISTILLERY and NANTUCKET VINEYARD MATT LAMBO is one of those people who can truly say he’s had a hand in building a brand from the ground up.  Lambo is a jack of all trades (sales, events, marketing) who has spent 1O years as... Read More

Like the canary in an old coal mine, the liver is the sensitive sentinel, the first organ to sustain permanent damage from abusive drinking. A large portion of the excessive mortality depicted by the right upward sweep of the J-shaped curve is due to alcoholic liver disease – chiefly cirrhosis.... Read More

“You’ve never been in a liquor store, right?” Rick Gordon quips as he walks me through the aisles of Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Waltham.  It’s mid-afternoon on Friday before Labor Day weekend and shoppers are bustling by us as he guides me through the aisles.  He shows me... Read More

Could there be a more wholesome fall activity here in New England than apple-picking (full flask notwithstanding)?  It’s as American as apple brandy – or applejack, the American version. Applejack is America’s oldest distilled spirit, an apple brandy that first became popular during Colonial times.  Laird’s & Company were the... Read More