Open That Bottle of Local Wine Night Recap

Posted on: March 29th, 2020 by
Macari Vineyards on Long Island

I received a message from Frank “Drink What You Like” Morgan about Saturday’s (March 28th) Open That Bottle of Virginia Wine Night. I thought this would be a good opportunity to lurk a bit on social media and learn (from home) more about Virginia Wine. (Take a look back via #VaWineNight.) Since we’re not going out [More]

Break Out The Oysters and…Red Wine?!?

Posted on: March 6th, 2020 by
Oysters and red wine?!? Say it ain't so.

I know. Oysters and red wine. It sounds so…unappealing. That is, to my particularly persnickety preferences. I do love white wine and steak. But that doesn’t seem as radical. Hey, I’m a drink-what-you-like kind of person, but bivalves and big reds are one of the very few things I can’t get behind. So I was [More]

Tender Feelings For My Ancient Slow Cooker

Posted on: February 27th, 2020 by
My vintage slow cooker.

Yes, I eschew the Instant Pot for my no-tech slow cooker, gifted to me by a dear friend. Does this actually makes me a Luddite in the true sense of the word? Lets see: one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest broadly : one who is opposed to, [More]

Discover Grosgrain, A Very Cool Walla Walla Winery for Fun Fizz and More

Posted on: January 25th, 2020 by
Grosgrain Vineyards makes a Lemberger pét-nat you must try.

Back in October I spent five idyllic days visiting wineries in Walla Walla, Washington. It had been a few years since my last trip, so I wanted to balance visiting some favorite spots with checking out new places. Regarding the latter, at the top of my list was Grosgrain Vineyards. Was I originally lured by [More]

Does wine continue to ferment in the bottle?

Posted on: January 21st, 2020 by

I’ve been answering wine queries on the question and answer site Quora. I’ll share some of the most interesting questions I’ve been asked and, of course, my answers. I limit myself to spending a couple minutes on each response, not doing any research or “cheating.” I rely on my experience and opinion, which is probably not [More]

Who Wants a Light, Fresh, Low-Alcohol Organic Spanish White Wine?

Posted on: January 16th, 2020 by
VIneyard at Bodegas Chozas Carrascal

I’m always on the lookout for organic white wines. So I was delighted to taste (and take home) the Las Dos Ces Blanco from Spain’s Chozas Carrascal winery. I picked up the bottle at my local wine shop, Grapepoint Wines, for $15. Go to wine tastings at your neighborhood place; it’s a great opportunity to discover [More]

Oppose 100% Tariffs on European Wine (and More!)

Posted on: January 4th, 2020 by
Oppose 100% tariffs on European wines.

If you haven’t head about the plan to levy 100% tariffs on European wine (and cheese, whiskey, olive oil, and more food products), you have until January 13th, 2020 to express your displeasure. This will be a disaster for wineries, importers, distributors, restaurants, and retail shops. My friend Jeremy Parzen of Do Bianchi has written [More]

My Favorite Books of 2019

Posted on: December 30th, 2019 by
Photo of bookshelf in black and white

Good news, I smoked my Goodreads 2019 Reading Challenge. I set the bar at 30 books and am currently parked at 37…with a little over a day to go and only a few short pages left in number 38. Without further ado, here’s my Favorite Books 2019 list. Well, not a list per se but [More]