The Spirit World

While Northern and Central Italian wine regions are quite well known internationally, think Tuscany and Piedmont, Southern Italy’s wine regions are becoming more popular as these wines find their way onto the world market. Among them, the region of Puglia, which serves as the “heel” of Italy’s boot, has had a renaissance in its wine production. Historically, Pliny […]

After a full meal of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and everything else that makes up our holiday table traditions, we don’t really need to eat another bite. But, sooner or later, most of us crave something sweet to end our meal. This year, instead of being seduced by the siren call of those perennial favorites […]

I recently attended the first annual North American Wine Bloggers’ Conference, held at the Flamingo Hotel in Sonoma, CA. Primarily developed by the OpenWine Consortium and Zephyr Wine Adventures, the conference featured a wide variety of activities, many of which differered from your usual conference fare. As a first forray into this arena, the conference […]

In the wake of the European Wine Bloggers’ Conference, the first North American Wine Bloggers’ Conference will take place from October 24-26, 2008 at the Flamingo Resort in Sonoma, CA. The three-day program will feature a variety of activities, which include both wine tasting and winery visits, along with opportunities for live blogging and blog-related […]

As noted in Part I of this article, the Stony Brook Center for Wine, Food & Culture, along with the New York State Grape & Wine Foundation and the Long Island Wine Council, hosted a two-day Symposium on the Art of Balance: Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context.
Building on the momentum established the previous day, […]

For the past week, the Long Island wine region (New York, USA) has played host to an international cast of winemakers. Hailing from as far away as Spain, Italy and France to as close as upstate New York, these winemakers came to share their perspectives on producing wine in a cool, maritime climate.
Their visit was sparked by […]

While characters in movies are often seen drinking wine, the wine itself usually doesn’t take center stage. However, as evidenced by a rash of recent movies, this seems to be changing.
In 2004, the big screen saw the release of Sideways and with it, Miles’ admonishment about Merlot. That same year, Jonathan Nossiter’s Mondovino gave oenophile […]

Summertime and the living is easy. Well, maybe not quite easy, but perhaps our hearts are a bit more carefree as the days grow longer and warmer.
Memorial Day Weekend generally heralds the start of the summer season and the return to backyard entertaining. For those in the city or without backyards, there is the tendency […]

Last August, I participated in the Bordeaux International Educator program held outside Boston. Returning to New York via Amtrak, I had occasion to meet Gilat Ben-Dor, CSW, MBA, whom had participated in the program as well. A relative newcomer to the world of wine, Gilat has had an eventful introduction to the industry, reinforcing her […]

Love is in the air this month.  For those of you looking for a way to dress up your Valentine’s Day, consider the object of your affection —the one with the sparkling personality — as your inspiration.
Accordingly, pop open the sparkling wines and celebrate.
If Valentine’s Day is not your thing, there are plenty of other […]