The Spirit World

An Organic and Biodynamic Wine Cellar Created by Scott Pactor of West Chelsea’s Appellation Wine & Spirits
Bright, Modern, and white, it’s exterior wall of glass, Appellation Wine & Spirits – in eco chic, delightfully designed West Chelsea, is the first Biodynamic Wine Boutique in New York City.
Opened in September 2005, Appellation has established itself as […]

It’s not often that a major Champagne house releases a new champagne but Bollinger have done just that with the release in London of Bollinger Rosé.
The creation of this non-vintage rosé has been long in the making and a dream of the House for almost a decade. This wine has evolved not as a curiosity, […]

With the newest season of Top Chef back on BravoTV, premiering last week, cookbook author Padma Lakshmi is front and center.  In her newest cookbook, Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet, Padma shares what she calls her “sexiest cocktail.”  Given my own admitted penchant for “girly drinks,” this just might make our next get-together.  Who says champagne […]

I wonder if 2008 will be as good as 2007 was for English Wine?The year has certainly started well with the lifting of the European Union planting ban. This was put in place in 1999 to compensate for the excessive volumes of low quality wine being produced elsewhere in the EU. It prevented the UK […]

A quick cocktail recipe for the weekend. But, bloody ‘ell people, this is a stunner!
I’ve never had PX (that’s wine speak for the Pedro Ximénez sherry) in a cocktail before but this blew me away. It has got to be my fave cocktaill of all time. After all it has champagne in it too!
It came […]

The Bar Room at The Modern, at The Museum of Modern Art, is a study on how to place the Bauhaus and twenty-first century Danish design pieces found in the museum in a contemporary, chic, and comfortable setting. 
Several doors east of MoMA on East Fifty-Third Street in New York, a serene white curving tunnel leads […]

It seems we are all in a Champagne or sparkling wine mood this week and I’m going to continue that theme for Happy Hour at Home. You may have a bottle or two left from holiday celebrations or perhaps received a bottle as a gift or it might just be a good time to […]

I wanted to make some comments before getting to the main point of today’s Brewsday post. You’ll remember from last week (I hope) that I have developed an interest in mixing beer with other beverages. My determination to explore this mixological territory was redoubled when I opened up a cocktail book a few […]

Happy New Year! Pass the Champagne! Or perhaps I should say “Sparkling Wine”, since that is actually what I am discussing here, the sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France simply being the most quintessential version, and the one that comes first to the minds of most people.
You’ve probably all heard the various versions […]

Nothing says “Christmas in Spain” like Freixenet (pronounced, “fresh-in-NET”).
Freixenet–headquartered an hour’s drive from Barcelona–is Spain’s largest and most well-known brand of cava. You’ve all seen Freixenent at your local liquor store. It’s that sinister-looking black bottle with the gold lettering and foil-wrapped stopper.
“Ahhhhh,” you’re now saying. “*That’s* Freixenet?! So tell me…what […]