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This past Christmas, practically every wine-drinking friend I know was given a gift of a set of stemless Riedel O glasses. But not me. My […]

The holidays are the only time of year when I tend to break my self-imposed rule of never paying more than $15 for a bottle […]

Thanksgiving with my family is probably not like Thanksgiving with your family. Does your mother start the meal by clinking a glass with her fork […]

Thanksgiving with my family is probably not like Thanksgiving with your family. Does your mother start the meal by clinking a glass with her fork […]

When I studied to be a sommelier, I was, at 25, the youngest kid in the class, surrounded by salt-and-pepper–haired cranksters who wanted to kick […]

This time of year, every magazine except Popular Mechanics seems to be stuffed to the gills with fall fashion advice. Including this one. So, good—now […]

Given the crushing dominance of vodka in bars around this town, it’s easy to forget about rum. And no wonder. All summer it’s dumped into […]

Few grapes in the history of winemaking have drawn more raised eyebrows than zinfandel, an exotic black variety whose name is odd given the European […]

Okay—so I was being lazy. I was anxious to use my gleaming new Screwpull leverpull corkscrew, one of those Star Trekkie–looking gadgets that could do […]

If the mere sight of thousands of wine bottles reclining horizontally makes you weak in the knees (as it does me), you’ll probably need to […]

During dinner one night at one of Boston’s most fancy-schmancy (read: French) restaurants, the sommelier poured me a glass of expensive California chardonnay that smelled […]

Regardless of whether you believe in God or Darwin, you’ve got to wonder about the six-month gap that came between the formation of the Southern […]

Nearly a decade ago, I was editor of a highbrow glossy magazine aimed at savvy Gen-X guys with refined tastes for adventure travel, extreme sports, […]

Celebrating the new year in wine terms is sort of retrospective: We look forward to tasting the past. Because all good wine must age for […]

When Ray Isle, managing editor of Wine & Spirits magazine, asked me if I would take part in a tasting panel, I jumped at the […]