TOSCANA Of all the convoluted, impenetrable, byzantine, clarity-hostile, sense-taunting barriers to understanding that the wine world tends to construct, the whole ‘Montepulciano’ pre-fab may be the most gratuitously unhelpful. Years ago, it even almost derailed...
Central Europe The modern history of wine in Central Europe has been hectic. The region has dealt with two world wars, the collapse of at least two empires, and a slew of civil wars and...
OREGON BREWERIES Oregon has a long history with beer. Shortly after the first European-Americans started arriving in 1843, breweries were already starting to pop up. Brewing was a staple of the early US expansion into...
Summer Vacation Rosé With our cold and grey summer in full effect, it’s nice to get away to somewhere warm, or at the least enjoy a nice rosé from a sunny locale. This month we...
Champagne is so internationally famous, such a universal shorthand for all things quality, luxury and convivial (off the top of my head: Miller Hi-Life ‘the champagne of beers’; Churchill’s quip that meeting FDR for the...
When we talk about American Whiskey, the conversation is often focused on whiskey made in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. In fact, whiskey is made in all 50 states, including right here in California! Old Potrero...
