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DAN AYKROYD • 56 • Actor Musician, Importer, Investor / Diamond Estates Winery & Spirits, Ltd. This upstanding son of Canada has long stood tall as a stalwart champion of bold and worthy causes.  First was humor, as Saturday Night Live’s Purvis Buckle and Ghostbusters’ Ray Stantz; then there was... Read More

Every third week of February the producer consortiums representing these appellations invite journalists from around the world to experience a full week of in-depth tastings. The Chianti Classico, Montepulciano, and Montalcino events focus on presenting information and tastes of barrel samples of the new vintage as well as samples of... Read More

Let’s examine some background and discussions from the program that seem of general interest.  The technical presentations had a narrower focus and for the wine tasting you had to be there. The contributors to those segments of the program I shall extract included: for the Association, Kip Kumler of Turtle... Read More

If you were going to choose the ideal place to start a new brewery in the early days of the craft brewing renaissance it’s doubtful that Juneau, Alaska, would ever cross your mind. While beautiful and the capital city of the state, the coastal town does not have a road... Read More

From Fantasy Football to Facebook forecasting trends and pop culture sensations can be as tricky an exercise as shooting fish in a barrel (or avoiding clichés).  When it comes to the alcohol who would have guessed ten years ago that Pabst Blue Ribbon and Miller High Life would be the... Read More

MIKE CIMINI • 39 • CEO Yankee Spirits Inc. • Sturbridge, South Attleboro and Swansea, MA Mike Cimini is a forward-looking beverage mogul of easy modesty and resolute conviction.  The young owner of Yankee Spirits, the Bay State’s largest chain, was recently named beverage dynamics’ Retailer of the Year.  Mike... Read More

Misty Kalkofen’s cell phone you might say, is her most valuable bartending tool. She regularly gets text messages from bartenders all around the country asking about recipes, products, and mixology methods. And, of course, she puts out sundry inquiries, too. She’s part of an informal but active network of tastemakers,... Read More

So much of the information reported about the relationships of cancer to alcohol consumption is conflicted and confusing that the comprehensive 2OO-page meta-review from the Australian Cancer Institute in New South Wales (www.cancerinstitute.org.au/cancer_inst/publications/pdfs/pm-2OO8-O3_alcohol-as-a-cause-of-cancer.pdf) is most welcome.  We must keep in mind that cancer is not one disease, but many, and... Read More

IT’S REMARKABLE that despite a year of economic misery and with little optimism for a speedy recovery, the market for wine in the United States actually grew again in 2OO8.  Per capita consumption surpassed three gallons for the first time ever and despite a palpable absence of demand in virtually... Read More