Author: Stephen Meuse

In 2004, independent filmmaker and ex-sommelier Jonathan Nossiter administered a grand cru skewering to some of Big Wine’s biggest wigs with his quirky, accusatory documentary Mondovino.  In one of the film’s more memorable … <span class="entry-title-primary">What’s hot in the world of wine?</br> The world of wine, that’s what</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">The world of wine, that's what.</span>Read more

If you heard the on-­air piece, you know that this is the last wine segment Chris and I will do for America’s Test Kitchen Radio.  So it seemed like a good time to see how much Chris has learned … <span class="entry-title-primary">Final Exam</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">We say adios to America's Test Kitchen with a quiz</span>Read more

When I started writing about wine lo these many years ago, it was something of a struggle to interest readers in pink—rosé—wine.  At the time, the only examples most consumers had encountered were   marketed as “white zinfandel”or “blush.”  These were highly technical wines made on an industrial-scale. A bit of carbonation and sugar was often added and there might be an aromatic grape — like … <span class="entry-title-primary">The wine world is in the pink. <br/>Is that a good thing?</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">America's Test Kitchen Radio</span>Read more

Every retail wine shop worth its salt ought to be part clinic, a place where problems can be addressed and resolved. In the wine corner at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge where I … <span class="entry-title-primary">Given up on red wine? Maybe you’ve been drinking the wrong kind</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">America's Test Kitchen Radio</span>Read more

THE LAST TIME I SAW Italian actress Virna Lisi she was having a wonderful time vamping it up as a reptilian Queen Catherine de Medici in the 1994 film adaptation of the Alexandre … I’ll clink to that: <br>On the uses of the toastRead more

Often the variation that occurs in the same wine from one vintage to another is minor and limited to interesting variations on a theme. A cool spring…a drier than normal summer…a … <span class="entry-title-primary">When troubles come</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">America's Test Kitchen Radio</span>Read more

It’s not easy to translate sensation into words, but sommeliers, retailers, and even winemakers are under constant pressure to do it. Much of the rhetoric that ensues is fanciful and frankly … <span class="entry-title-primary">Waiter, There’s a rock<br/> (herb, green bean) in my wine!</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">America's Test Kitchen Radio</span>Read more

  It was the Widow Clicquot (Veuve Clicquot) who around the turn of the 19th century developed several now­-standard techniques for making Champagne both reliably sparkling and profitable when produced on a … <span class="entry-title-primary">Up with Champagne, <br/>down with flutes!</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">America's Test Kitchen Radio</span>Read more

We long ago settled the question of whether cigarettes are bad for you and whether seat belts save lives.  While nothing seems more obvious now, it wasn’t always the case.  When … In search of the source of originality in wineRead more

Chris and I have spoken on air several occasions here about appellation wine—the most prestigious category of wine, wine made according to the rules you might say. On a recent segment … <span class="entry-title-primary">Wines that play by their own rules</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">America's Test Kitchen Radio</span>Read more

TBILISI, REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA.  If the steeply winding, cobble-stoned climb from Tibilisi’s old town up Metekhi Rise leaves you with any breath at all, be prepared for the view from its … <span class="entry-title-primary">Where English is spoken but only Georgian is drunk</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">Cozy spot in Tbilisi Old Town sources natural wines from peasant vintners</span>Read more

We’ve devoted several radio spots to the question of how wine is priced and whether it’s always possible for even experts to accurately guess a wine’s price by taste alone. Recently … <span class="entry-title-primary">What’s the difference between expensive and inexpensive wine?</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">America's Test Kitchen Radio</span>Read more