Author: Stephen Meuse

Browsing for some information about an old Bordeaux (the 1967 Château Beychevelle) a while ago led me to a 1973 New York Magazine story whose banner you see above. The author, Romanian-born Alexis … Come back, Alexis Bespaloff . . . <br>and bring wine prices with you!Read more

Is wine art or craft? It’s the kind of question that can seem fun to knock around when the evening grows late and the company is the sort to have opinions … The caterpillar and the butterflyRead more

Today, most wine education takes the form of a guided tour of what we might call the appellation trail. Since appellations constitute the fundamental categories nation states use to organize and … It’s like this. Sort of.Read more

It’s no mystery that quality is a rather mysterious concept; one of those things everyone understands perfectly until it’s time to define it. Judgments of quality in wine are particularly challenging … Quality wine? What’s that?Read more

Just how many years into the natural wine era (trend? wave? meme?) we may now be, is, like many other aspects of natural wine itself, not very clear. But I can … Is Natural Wine Getting Less Natural?Read more

It’s said that this is a time when respect for real expertise is on the wane, its reputation as a source of solutions for whatever ails us under assault. Heaven knows … Only You Can SayRead more

How many kinds of wine are there? It’s a question I’m often mulling, in part because the answer always seems so appealingly out of reach. The idea that the query could … PlaythingsRead more

From time to time, winemakers in town to present and talk up their wines will drop by our cellar. We love this, because it gives us an opportunity to get acquainted … The Style IssueRead more

It was 46 years ago this month that the wine world experienced its very own version of The Shot Heard ‘Round the World: the 1976 showdown between Californian and French wines organized … Judgment in ParisRead more

Wander the streets of the northern Italian city of Parma, and you may be struck, as I have been, by the innumerable small food shops, cafes and wine bars that display … Sly, Wry LambruscoRead more

How old is that in dog years? One of the most frequent, and perfectly reasonable questions we’re asked to field in the wine corner from day to day has to do … Ready or NotRead more

What makes a wine good, better or even best? It’s a challenging question and one that admits not only of multiple answers, but of more than one approach to drawing a … Show of HandsRead more