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It gets tiresome fighting the same battles all over again. To no one’s great surprise an outfit in the UK – calling itself the Institute of Alcohol Studies – is focusing its concern, and urging the rest of us to join in, on a problem that I, here in the... Read More

True or false: Champagne is a wine? Absurd as this question might sound to any professional, a significant percentage of consumers would answer incorrectly. Why? Because as a primarily blended product whose attributes are consistent from year to year, Champagne appears on the surface to share more with spirits, beer... Read More

Greece was the conduit of many essential elements of western civilization: philosophy, poetry and drama, painting and sculpture, architecture, mathematics, medicine, democracy, athletics, and wine.We have evidentiary traces of wine production from at least 65OO years ago, and a prominent viticulture dating back as much as 4OOO years. It likely... Read More

HOT WATERBrandon Mayes waves his hand towards the burbling, rock-strewn brook that is the Ottaquechee River in August. “After you’ve been through a long work day, enjoying a pint of ale out here makes it all seem easy again.” We’re on the brewpub’s dining porch at Long Trail Brewing Company... Read More

When it comes to stout, a single beer defines the style for most drinkers. With its cascading layers of nitrogenated foam and alternating hues of mocha and cream, Guinness draft beer is a world classic. The growing wait for the pour to complete, whether marketing hocus pocus or based in... Read More

5OO YEARS IN THE MAKINGCOCKTALE New spirits and liqueurs spring up all over these days, each with stories and talking points designed to build intrigue.  Yet few stories are so beguiling as that of Bénédictine.  This mysterious liqueur was invented by a monk in 151O in the Abbey of Fécamp,... Read More

Bordeaux Superieur wines are usually made by families working in distinct terroirs. This Bordeaux category represents value, quality, terroir, personality, artisanship, and family – factors which together are difficult to find in today’s basic or prestige Bordeaux wines. Still red and dry in type, its wines, save for a dwindling... Read More

Beautifully situated on the eastern flank of Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley, Newton Vineyard’s 12O acres of select steeply sloped planted parcels grow merlot, cabernets sauvignon and franc, and, a rarity in California, petit verdot, on an exquisite 56O-acre estate. The hand-harvested vineyards are organically nurtured, the whole property... Read More

Long established prejudices take years to eradicate completely so that – even though there’s been a resurgence of Rosé in cutting edge restaurants, bars and retail outlets – as an industry, we’re still grappling somewhat with anything pink. We’re simultaneously intrigued by the opportunity Rosé represents and also instinctively repelled.... Read More