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Retailers, restaurateurs or wholesalers wedded to the notion that wine and spirits sell themselves could be losing a lot of money. Gone are the days when all you needed to do was stock products and wait for customers to come in and buy them. Now, every product category – from... Read More

Celebrating its centennial in 2OO6, V. Cirace & Son is by far Boston’s oldest family-owned bottle shop. (The store’s State License, WD2, is Boston’s second oldest.) Jeff and Lisa Cirace, grandchildren of founder Ernesto, have complemented each other’s creative styles for over 3O years. Under their loving guidance, V. Cirace... Read More

It is an infuriating grape to work with because it makes wines that have enough tannin to make your mouth feel like a desert. The name of the grape variety probably is derived the root of the word “tannin”. Because Madiran has been far from the madding crowd, it was... Read More

Whether we’re discussing wine, food, literature, art, athletics, or life itself, there are virtually no clear, uncontroversial standards. Much like love, you can’t prove its existence, but most of us would say you know it when you feel it. The fact is though that “great” means something a bit different... Read More

Giovanni Folonari looks the archetypal Italian gentleman – tall, dark, handsome – but the Tuscan winemaker has the animated drive, articulate expression, and Stentorian voice of a marketing professor. Having divested the Folonari winery (and name) a generation ago, Giovanni and his father Ambrogio recently split with members of their... Read More

It’s the first of November, and that means two things. One, you sold your last bottle of Oktoberfest yesterday; hope you didn’t overstock, and two, it’s now winter beer season, and all the breweries are going to be selling you theirs. But before you buy into the turbo-charged, spice-burning action,... Read More