All posts in January 2020

How far back containers go in pre-history is impossible to say, though no doubt it’s very far indeed. Those early human groups who traveled in small, mobile bands across the landscape are known as hunter-gatherers, after all, and what is gathered must be carried. We can guess that woven baskets were primeval; and that the…

In movies of a certain kind (think  The Third Man, Port of Shadows,  Brief Encounter) fog plays a prominent role.  Its presence evokes mystery, doubt, and a vague anxiety  – all lovely things when you’re longing to sink into something entertainingly noirish. Wine and fog have some associations, too. 

There’s the noble grape of Barolo,…

The impending (or perhaps only threatened) 100% tariffs on some European luxury goods has the wine industry in a tizzy – as well it might. As Jenny Lefcourt, an importer of natural wines outlined in a recent New York Times letter to the editor, the industry has a deep reach into American business and the…