Author: Stephen Meuse

WHEN suppertime rolled around last Sunday night and I had an open bottle of a favorite red wine standing by (2008 Closerie des Alisiers Hautes Cotes de Beaune), I decided not … On whether red wine can ever be fish wineRead more

IF YOU HAVEN’T at least heard about the natural wine movement, it’s likely you haven’t been paying  attention. If you have been paying attention you probably know that it’s an amorphous … Absent-minded Winemaking and the Romantic traditionRead more

IT’S EASY TO FORGET that at one time the celebrated  vineyards of northern Europe were nothing more than wooded hillsides. The Romans, who generally took the long view of things, planted … Hautes Côtes de VermontRead more

An email from Hamilton Russell Vineyards this week brought an item of interest. The star South African property has begun putting a small amount of its fine estate chardonnay into small, … The Clay’s the ThingRead more

IT’S WHERE THE EVERYDAY meets the can-you-believe-it that most interesting things happen; where risks and rewards run high; where people who know better (or think they do) often fear to tread. … Chardonnay with latitudeRead more

In his relentless campaign to build the reputation of California wine, Robert Mondavi liked to set Napa Valley against Europe in comparative tastings. According to witnesses, he would badger guests into … Mineral rightsRead more

A friend of a mischievous turn of mind brought several wines over the other night  all bagged up in brown paper bags.  He challenged me to taste and comment on them. … Identical strangersRead more

WINE HAS ITS chattering classes too, and for some time now its pet subject has been something called terroir. Like entrepreneur or mise en place, terroir is a French loanword that … Charismatic, enigmatic wines of CampaniaRead more

In the introduction to his engaging and endlessly useful book “Brunello to Zibibbo: The wines of Tuscany, Central, and Southern Italy, Nicolas Belfrage maintains that correct pronunciation “is an important tool … Say it . . . don’t slay itRead more

The first edition of Oliver de Serrres’ manual on agricultural practice, Le Theatre d’Agriculture et Mesnage des Champs, was published in March of 1600. Dedicated to King Henry IV of France (of chicken-in-every-pot … A Little Lipstick for your Chardonnay? <br>Read more

A BRITISH-BORN FRIEND now in his 70s remembers a time when high quality red Burgundy was commonly found on the tables of clergymen, schoolteachers, and other folk of quite modest means … For affordable Burgundy, consider the bywaysRead more